Similar efforts to build a natural gas pipeline have fizzled repeatedly. Since then, oil production has declined, and the recession-racked state hopes to tap into natural gas to fill the gaps. Larry Persily, former US coordinator for Alaska natural gas projects, said it could cost $1 billion to get to that point, and he doesn't think the timeline is realistic. It has an insatiable need for natural gas as it struggles with pollution and tries to end its reliance on coal. Charlie Riedl, executive director of Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, sees no reason to be skeptical, saying the Chinese have wanted to get involved in a natural gas project in the US for some time.

Source: Bangkok Post November 10, 2017 04:18 UTC