Exxon Mobil, BP, ConocoPhillips and the government of Alaska have agreed to settle the North Slope gas dispute by building a new gas pipeline and terminal to export fuel, RIA Novosti reports.
The companies agreed to start extraction at the Point Thomson Block, east of Prudhoe Bay, no later than in May 2016.
Initial extraction rate is expected to reach 10,000 barrels of gas condensate and 200 million cubic meters of gas daily. Gas will be liquefied at a terminal on the southern coast of Alaska and then exported via tankers.
Talks on the gas pipeline construction from Northern Slope have been ongoing since the start of oil transport from Port Valdez in 1977 using the Trans-Alaska system. Gas demand on foreign markets has caused new interest in the source.
The gas pipeline may be used for exports of the fuel to China and other Asian states.
Point Thomson is a US oil field 100 km east of Prudhoe Bay. It was discovered in 1965. Exxon has invested $1.5 billion. The oil field holds 25% of North Slope reserves. North Slope contains 991 billion cubic meters of gas.
