NEW YORK (AFP) — British energy giant BP and US-based ConocoPhillips announced plans Monday to build one of the world's largest natural gas pipelines from Alaska to Canada.
The companies said the proposed pipeline would be over 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) long and stretch from a gas treatment plant on Alaska's North Slope into Canada through the Yukon Territory and British Columbia to Alberta.
The planned Alaska Gas Pipeline, called Denali, would be able to ship four billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to markets.
The two energy groups said it would also be the "largest private sector construction project ever built in North America."
BP and ConocoPhillips said they will spend 600 million dollars on the project before 2010, after which they will need to gain approval from America's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Canada's National Energy Board before they can start constructing the vast pipeline.
"This project is vital for North American energy consumers and for the future of the Alaska oil and gas industry. It will allow us to keep our North Slope fields in production for another 50 years," said BP chief executive Tony Hayward.
"The Alaska Gas Pipeline project will deliver natural gas to meet North America's growing energy needs," said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive officer.
The companies said they have already assigned staff to the joint project team which will be ramping up its operations in coming months.
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