Lawmakers weigh Alaska gov's gas pipeline plan

The hope was it would enable producers to move forward with a pipeline. This prompted Palin to chart a different course, one she deemed more inclusive and competitive.

Dan Dickinson, a consultant hired by a legislative oversight committee, said keeping the prospects of a gas line competitive calls for a careful balance.

"There is no question a competition can be good," Dickinson said. "To the degree that the state has two viable competitors, that's good.

"What I'm concerned about is if you treat the awarding of the license as though the competition is over, as if we are crowning a winner, that's not good."

Palin's gas line team received five applications under the new gas pipeline law, plus one from ConocoPhillips which didn't conform to the state's criteria. ConocoPhillips later joined up with BP on the alternative proposal, deemed Denali: The Alaska Gas Pipeline.

Before the joint venture was announced, Palin told ConocoPhillips she saw no advantage to setting aside the new parameters and begin negotiating with the Houston company.

So she turned her attention to TransCanada's proposal, which says it can move the North Slope's natural gas to North American markets.

TransCanada proposes a line that would travel 1,715 miles from the North Slop southeast to a pipeline hub in Calgary, Alberta, that connects to all the major markets on the continent.

About 35 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves are believed to lie beneath the North Slope permafrost, and energy analysts believe that figure will rise in the future.

No matter who builds the pipeline, it could become the largest, most expensive energy facility ever constructed, or simply the largest private-sector project ever undertaken, in North America.