An 'open season' in layman's terms is when a company conducts a non-binding show of interest or poll in the marketplace, they ask potential customers "if we build it, will you come?".
Once in Valdez, it would be converted to liquified natural gas in facilities built by others and then shipped to North American and International markets.
The proposed building site for the GTP would be at the North Slope's Prudhoe Bay facilities which then treats the gas to be shipped in the pipeline.
Both options give Alaskan communities the opportunity to acquire natural gas from a minimum of five delivery points along the pipeline.
TransCanada's license with the AGIA required that they file a complete application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in October 2012 for a certificate to build and operate the pipeline.
Berger's inquiry resulted in a recommendation for a ten-year moratorium on development of the pipeline to deal with issues such as Aboriginal land claims and setting aside of conservation areas.
In the United States, three competing applications were filed with the Federal Power Commission to construct a natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay.
[10][11] On August 27, 2008, Palin signed a bill into law giving the state of Alaska authority to award TransCanada Corp. 500 million dollars in seed money and a license to build and operate the $26-billion pipeline to transport natural gas from the North Slope to the Lower 48, through Canada.
[14] On December 5, 2008, the AGIA license, jointly awarded to Foothills Pipe Lines Ltd. and TransCanada Alaska, LLC, was signed in Fairbanks.
[1] In 2014, the agreement between Alaska and Transcanada was cancelled in the light of substantially lower prices for natural gas and increased use of extraction technology that has markedly boosted supply, making the pipeline arrangement uneconomic.
The 500 million dollars in seed money was forfeited by the State legally to Transcanada under a cancellation clause for front end engineering and design work completed.
[16] Outside of the AGIA process, authorities were evaluating a separate proposal issued by Denali – The Alaska Gas Pipeline LLC, a joint venture of ConocoPhillips and BP.
[25] Opposition to the Alaska natural gas pipeline route mandate and price supports came from both the Bush administration and the Canadian government.
In a letter to the Sen. Domenici, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham wrote, "[The administration] believes market forces should select the route of the pipeline."
[26] Former Canadian Ambassador to the United States Michael Kergin wrote that Canada is of the opinion that the Alaskan pipeline should be built without subsidies and without the route being determined by legislation.
[27] The late Governor Wally Hickel advocated an "All-Alaskan" route which would go from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez and would bring gas to Fairbanks and Anchorage.