Mixed Signals?

Are you in or are you out?

Will ConocoPhilips flinch first? (LINK). BP's short on cash, ConocoPhillips is saying the wrong things - maybe by Christmas the projects will merge?

BP to cut capex, sell assets for $20bn payout

Tip of the iceberg. The Chicago shakedown is going to leave BP much less able to fund a share of the Alaska Gas Pipeline.

From UpStream Online: BP will slash its capital spending budget, sell $10 billion in assets and drop its dividend to pay for a $20 billion spill response fund.

File this one under "Crazy random occurrences 5000 miles away the screw your project into oblivion"

Fackrell Offers More Details on Denali Pipeline Project

By Tim Bradner (LINK)
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Denali Pipeline President Bud Fackrell gave additional details on the company's gas pipeline planning effort at the Alaska Oil and Gas Symposium in Anchorage Sept. 23.

Fackrell said that most of the chilled pipeline would be buried, while other segments would be built above-ground through earthquake-prone areas and major river crossing. The gas pipeline will be placed on vertical support members similar to the procedure used for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

The company in 2009 will also begin studies of long-term in-state gas needs and will ramp up training initiatives, he said. The in-state needs assessment is required by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Alaska groups like the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority and Enstar Natural Gas Co. are working on ways of getting North Slope gas to consumers in the state, he said.

Denali is focused on the big pipeline, but the company intends to work closely with these groups. Fackrell said Denali has established five take-off points for gas within Alaska and is setting up a special engineering team to work with groups like ANGDA and Enstar, which want to take gas from the pipeline.

Enbridge: The other Canadian Pipeline Company

From CNNMONEY/Dow Jones:

Enbridge Inc. (ENB) is still in talks with ConocoPhillips (COP) and BP PLC (BP) about taking part in their natural gas pipeline from Alaska, the company said Thursday, even as the state government throws its support behind a competing project.

Canada's second-biggest pipeline firm added that it wouldn't rule out participation in a broader consortium involving Alaska's major gas producers and Calgary-based rival TransCanada Corp. (TRP), which recently won the approval of Alaska's senate.

"We're still continuing discussions" with ConocoPhillips and BP, Enbridge spokeswoman Jennifer Varey said. "We've always seen ourselves participating in a larger consortium...We certainly see a role for us."

-By Hyun Young Lee, Dow Jones Newswires

ENBRIDGE 2007 ANNUAL REPORT HERE