TransCanada urges contract completion

Hal Kvisle, president and chief executive of TransCanada, dropped in on the Alaska Legislature July 13 by letter, urging the state to complete its contract negotiations with the North Slope producers.

In the letter, which Gov. Frank Murkowski read parts of during his address to a joint House-Senate session of the Legislature, Kvisle said TransCanada recognizes the importance of the agreement the state has reached with North Slope producers. He said it is difficult to see how a North Slope gas pipeline project could proceed without the producers, and reminded the administration that it has advised it to be wary of independent pipeline proposals which did not include the producers.

TransCanada has declined to join various consortiums to develop the pipeline without producer support, Kvisle said. He mentioned rights which TransCanada holds in Alaska and said TransCanada continues to be willing to make those available to an Alaska project as long as TransCanada builds the Canadian side of the line.

Kvisle said that with the resolution of some matters in the contract, TransCanada is generally supportive and urged the state to settle the contract and move forward with the project.

—Kristen Nelson