Wendy King, vice president of ConocoPhillips' external affairs, encouraged trucking companies to be prepared for the onslaught of work. She spoke at the Alaska Trucking Association's convention, held in Anchorage April 17.

“The key thing is getting the pipeline up and running, and we will need all the trucking industry's support to do it,” King said. “There will be work in progress this summer, but in the short term, the focus will be on planning.”

ConocoPhillips and BP announced in April that they have combined resources to start build a new company, called Denali, to plan and construct a gas line. The companies said they'll spend $600 million between now and 2010.

King noted the importance of the gas pipeline, which if built, would be the largest private-sector construction project ever, at an estimated cost of $30 billion.

“ConocoPhillips is an owner and respected shipper on the Rockies Express gas line. This was a huge project in 1987, at $4 billion,” King said. “This project dwarfs the Rockies Express and is a much bigger pipeline deal.”

“We finally have a privately financed, unsubsidized gas line plan sponsored by companies who have the gas, and the financial and technical resources to build the largest privately financed project in the history of our country,” said Jim Jansen, president of major trucking company Lynden Inc. “The state of Alaska can now focus on the fiscal certainty requirements to make an Alaska gas line a reality.”

Conoco's Ed Hendrickson said the company would use a 48- to 52-inch pipeline on the project, depending on the supply and demand. A major consideration for the pipe's size would be the final decision on the Point Thomson dispute between the state and ExxonMobil.

“We don't want to leave gas stranded in the ground, so this decision is very important,” Hendrickson said.

This year, the newly formed Denali company plans to focusing on the gas line route, wetlands delineation, and the section of line that will go through the Fairbanks and Delta Junction areas. “We don't have much information on this part of the route,” King said.

Although specific information was scarce, King encouraged trucking officials to get ready for work as the project moves forward.

“When we do mobilize, we are going to need a lot of equipment and this will require logistics as we get this project moved forward,” King said. “We will keep you informed of our progress as it moves along.”