Alaska pipeline the power poker chip

[…] More important, there is enough gas trapped under the tundra here to help the United States fend off an energy crisis that politicians have called one of the greatest threats to their country. Sarah Palin, Alaska’s governor and, as of yesterday, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, wants to get it out of the ground as soon as possible.

But before that can happen, Alaska must resolve a $30-billion battle that pits Ms. Palin against energy giants BP PLC and ConocoPhillips Inc., two pillars of the state’s economy. Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., Canada’s largest pipeline company, is caught in the middle, enjoying legislative and some financial support from the state to build the 2,670-kilometre-long line that would ship four billion cubic feet of gas a day beginning in 2018.

But TransCanada is up against a rival pipeline project that would be built by BP and Conoco, the very oil companies TransCanada needs as its customers. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest corporation, potentially holds the power to crown a winner by virtue of its sizeable gas production, but it has not yet picked a side.

It is a political poker game, and even though all the major parties say they are willing to work with one another, there is a plethora of ways they could stonewall the process.

Financial Post