Companies see Alaska LNG project cost at up to $65 bln

Oct 4 (Reuters) - Oil companies putting together plans for a new "megaproject" to ship liquefied natural gas abroad from Alaska estimated the cost will run between $45 billion and $65 billion, according to a letter sent to the state governor, Sean Parnell.

In March, Exxon Mobil Corp and partners BP Plc

and ConocoPhillips agreed to work together with TransCanada Corp on the project.

The North Slope LNG pipeline project would be of "unprecedented scale and challenge," said the letter from the oil companies. It would require up to 1.7 million tons of steel and 15,000 workers at its peak, while creating more than 1,000 permanent jobs in Alaska, said the letter, which was released late Wednesday by Parnell's office.

TransCanada had originally proposed a $41 billion overland pipeline to move North Slope gas down to the U.S. market, which is currently facing a glut of natural gas due to production from shale fields.

(Reporting by Yereth Rosen in Anchorage; Writing by Braden Reddall; Editing by Diane Craft)

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Keywords: ALASKA LNG/