We've been here before. Gas is the same as oil, as copper and salmon. The reality of development may be less than the daydreams of another boom. Also, Alaska's economy is far larger than during the pipeline days, which would dampen the economic impact. And money to the state would be far less than from oil.
Gas is much more expensive to move.
During the late 1970s, just after Prudhoe Bay oil production began, a similar frenzy over the Slope's gas trove occurred. With the nation gripped by energy crisis, gas development seemed certain. Similar to today, proponents floated ideas for an LNG project, a Lower 48 pipeline. Tens of millions were spent on environmental assessments, permits and engineering. By the early 1980s, gas development was dead.