THE State of Alaska is "hammering out the details" of a contract with North Slope producers to build a natural gas pipeline. If a contract favourable to Alaska can be reached and the pipeline built, the North Slope's 35 trillion cu. ft. of known gas reserves could help bring energy stability to an increasingly gas-hungry nation, Gov. Frank Murkowski said recently during a speech to industry leaders attending an oil and gas conference in Anchorage. "Clearly, we have some opportunities," Murkowski said, going on to say that negotiations with BP, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil – the companies that hold leases to the gas – are in the closing stages. "I anticipate hearing something definitive very soon," he said. The State's proposal contains six "gasline principles", all of which are in the contract being negotiated with the producers, Murkowski said. These principles include Alaskans getting a fair share of revenues from the project, and having the opportunity to access the gas, as well as getting pipeline jobs. The State also wants ownership in the pipeline. The State has been in negotiations for about 18 months with the producers. Chuck Logsdon, one of its negotiators, said negotiations heated-up in recent months. "There has been a lot of intense work going on in terms of hammering out a whole ton of details that are involved in a project of the magnitude of the pipeline," he said. Once a deal is reached, there will be a 30-day public comment period before it goes to the legislature for approval. Ruth Massie, chief of the Ta'an Kwatch'an Council in Whitehorse, Yukon, has questioned the governor about the lack of Alaska Natives in the negotiations. He said nobody outside representatives for the state and the producers, and some consultants, are privy to the talks. "The contract talks remain confidential," Murkowski said. However, "the aboriginal people of Canada won't allow the State of Alaska to ignore its obligation to Alaska Natives if the pipeline is built", Ms Massie is reported to have responded. "Do they think they can just ignore the communities and do what is best for the revenues of the state?" she said.