Gov. Sean Parnell's administration hopes to get out from under a 2007 law to further advance a major natural gas pipeline project. That law, known as the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, was aimed at encouraging construction of a pipeline to move North Slope gas to market. TransCanada Corp. won an exclusive license to pursue it, with state support. Since then, the project has changed significantly. It's no longer focused on North American markets and is instead looking at exporting Alaska gas to Asia. All three major North Slope oil companies support the overseas effort. Parnell proposes closing the state's AGIA office. And Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash says the hope is that the parties will have more freedom to reach fiscal terms on a project without the restraints of AGIA.
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