The state of Alaska, through its Alaska Gasline Development Corp., on April 17 applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a permit to build a $40-billion to $45-billion natural-gas pipeline and liquefied-natural-gas export facility on the North Slope. Three oil majors last year decided not to move forward with the plan to export Alaska’s stranded natural gas to Asian markets. Processed in Prudhoe Bay, the gas would shipped by an 800-mile pipeline to a terminal on the Kenai Peninsula. The state wants FERC to finish its review by 2018, with construction to start in 2019. Alaska says the project would create 9,000 to 12,000 construction-sector jobs.