Alaska gov signs bill to advance major gas project

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- Gov. Sean Parnell has signed legislation setting Alaska's participation in a proposed liquefied natural gas project.

Parnell signed SB138 on a piece of pipe surrounded by lawmakers in Fairbanks. He ended the event with a call to go build the project.

The bill is aimed at advancing the mega-project into a phase of preliminary engineering and design; there is not guarantee yet that it will be built.

The project's other partners are the North Slope's three major players, TransCanada Corp. and the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., or AGDC.

Alaska's participation would be at about 25 percent. TransCanada would own the state's interest in the pipeline and gas treatment plant, with the state having an option to buy-back some of that stake. AGDC would hold the state's interest in liquefaction facilities.