ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 8 (UPI) -- The Denali natural gas pipeline from Alaska will go into service in 2020 following $35 billion in investments to build the project, operators said.
Denali, a joint venture between BP and ConocoPhillips, announced the open season to fill the pipeline from the North Slope in Alaska to markets in the Lower 48.
The $35 billion project consists of gas treatment plants and transmission lines in Alaska through a terminal point in Alberta, Canada.
The project consortium said the pipeline was "an enormous undertaking with substantial risks," becoming one of the largest private investments in North America.
The main pipeline will stretch 730 miles through Alaska and 1,020 miles through Canada. Interconnections will transport gas to consumers throughout North America.
Denali is designed to carry 4.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The consortium said it expects approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in July.
TransCanada is competing with Denali to build the natural gas pipeline.
Opponents say new technology to exploit gas locked in shale deposits in the Lower 48 undermines the need for the natural gas pipeline to feed U.S. markets.
