Building on his case earlier this month for the United States to name a pipeline coordinator, he said May 21 that both countries should appoint commissioners to explore ways to streamline the regulatory process.

Nault said the commissioners would formulate recommendations on the “most effective way to proceed” that could include new legislation.

“I very much believe that cooperation (between the two governments) is necessary in order to see the (Alaska Highway) pipeline built,” he said May 1 in a teleconference from Washington, D.C., after meeting with U.S. industry and government leaders.

Nault said a joint approach would help speed up the Alaska pipeline and bolster North American energy security. But he remains uneasy at the prospect of U.S. legislation giving North Slope producers a federal tax credit of up to 52 cents per thousand cubic feet of gas shipped if the wellhead price dropped below $1.35 per thousand cubic feet.

Under a proposal being debated by U.S. legislators, if pipeline tariffs came out at the predicted level of about $2.38 per thousand cubic feet, the credit would take effect when the wholesale market price reached about $3.73.

Loan guarantees or quicker depreciation of capital are fine, guaranteed floor prices are not, Nault said.

In fact, he said, the Canadian government would not only endorse loan guarantees for Alaska, it might offer guarantees to the Aboriginal Pipeline Group which is seeking financial help from TransCanada to gain a one-third stake in a Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

However, he emphasized that subsidies — such as a floor price — would be a “serious impediment to moving forward,” because of the potential distortion of the marketplace.