Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 14/02) - Throughout discussions of a Northern gas pipeline, Yukon Premier Pat Duncan has been very vocal in supporting the Alaska Highway route.

The Alaska line means new jobs to the troubled Yukon economy and the premier said it also means a lot to Canada.

"It means $26 billion to Canada's gross domestic product," Duncan said. "It's very important to Canada and it's very important to Canadians."

Duncan said she intends to "debunk the myth" of stranded Canadian gas, should the Alaska pipeline get built first.

"There is no such thing as stranded gas," Duncan said.

"No resource is going to be left in the ground -- the market is going to need them."

"Who goes first is a matter of the regulators, the infrastructure and, quite frankly, which gas is pipeline ready."

Duncan said the Yukon is now a net exporter of natural gas and has potential to export trillions of cubic feet if there was a pipeline to transport the fuel. She said there are eight sedimentary basins that could hold huge resources.

"There are anywhere from between nine and 13 tcf (trillion cubic feet) of gas," Duncan said. "Yukon sedimentary basins are largely unexplored."

Duncan said the producers have been reluctant to explore in the Yukon because of a lacking infrastructure and dealing with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, but that is all changing.

"We have devolved the authority for oil and gas from Canada to the Yukon," she said. "We now have an oil and gas regime that is very well thought of in the industry and we are embarking on our fourth land sale this fall."