Plans for both lines have been stymied for decades, bogged down by regulatory problems and fluctuating gas prices, and are designed to funnel energy from the Artic down to southern markets.

"Mackenzie, just because of the lead it currently has, will get built first, will get to the market first," he said in a Financial Times report.

But should its regulatory process slip, and the Alaska project move ahead rapidly, the Canadian venture could lose its edge, he added.

ConocoPhillips holds significant gas leases on Alaska's North Slope, as well as leases in Canada's Artic. Meyers, in an interview with media, said the need for natural gas is significant enough that both projects will be viable and ConocoPhillips does not favour one project over the other.

"We believe we need both lines," he said. "It is not the next five years. It is 10, 20 years into the future. We believe North America needs the gas from both of these basins."

ConocoPhillips owns half of Denali, The Alaska Gas Pipeline company with BP, which is competing against Canadian pipeline giant TransCanada to build in Alaska. TransCanada's effort is backed by Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin.

The Mackenzie gasline project is waiting for the Joint Review Panel, an independent group of regulators, to deliver its much-delayed review.

Meanwhile the federal government in January made an offer to financially support the 1220-kilometre pipeline, which was first proposed 35 years ago.

"It is hard to be too positive about that regulatory process," Mr. Myers said. "It is probably not best-in-class by a far means."

In Alaska, Palin's pet project has been to jumpstart the line, and this summer the state government awarded TransCanada a package of financial goodies to start preliminary work. The Denali consortium did not participate in Palin's process, and is going ahead with preliminary work on its own.

Published: 27 March 2009 19:56 GMT  | Last updated: 27 March 2009 20:03 GMT