LNG

The US Department of Energy has given final approval after permit processes lasting more than a decade of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. LNG export project to supply Asian nations with the state’s abundant North Slope gas.

Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the lead developers of the Alaska liquefied natural gas export project, said regulators had published the final environmental impact statement for the venture to monetize North Slope gas and ship it to Asia as LNG.

The US agency that helps the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with the permit processing for export plants and pipelines has determined that the Alaska LNG liquefaction facility proposed for the eastern shore of Cook Inlet complies with siting requirements.

Alaska Governor Michael J. Dunleavy has begun a visit to Japan where he will promote future liquefied natural gas exports and visit the Negishi LNG import terminal where the first cargo from Alaska was unloaded 50 years ago and meet Tokyo Gas executives as well as proponents of a new Alaskan liquefaction project.

The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), owner of the proposed Alaska LNG project, has started replying to regulatory questions on environmental mitigation measures as its main partner in the venture, ExxonMobil Corp., has sent a supporting letter.

Alaska Gasline Development Corp. the developer of the Alaska LNG project, has scheduled a board meeting in Anchorage for May 22 when future key decisions on the venture will be discussed and cost-reduction and other reports considered.

Alaska Governor Michael J. Dunleavy has named four new members to the seven-member board of directors governing the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the state company aiming to build the Alaska LNG project to supply Asian nations.

Governor Dunleavy, a Republican, named two oil and gas industry supporters, Doug Smith and Dan Coffey, both of Anchorage, to replace outgoing board members Hugh Short of Girdwood and Joey Merrick of Eagle River.

The two other appointees were Department of Labor Commissioner Tamika Ledbetter and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Jason Brune to serve as State of Alaska department-level members of the AGDC Board.

The Alaska LNG developers are expected to spend up to $45 billion to build an 800-mile gas pipeline from the North Slope in northern Alaska to a planned liquefaction plant in Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage.

A gas processing plant, needed mainly to remove carbon dioxide from the Prudhoe Bay gas, would also be built on the North Slope.

“Alaskans have long focused on the benefits of reduced energy costs, bringing our rich energy resources to market and monetizing our North Slope gas,” said Dunleavy

“The announcement continues those goals, while putting in place the personnel to make diligent review of the project,” he added.

“AGDC is tasked with a very complex mission and I look forward to seeing how best the State can assist in moving a project forward,” he explained.

“Each one of our appointees bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to table, including in areas of resource development, labor and workforce, regulatory issues and oversight, and I look forward to working closely with them in the future,” stated Dunleavy.

AGDC is governed by a seven-member board of directors, five public members and two principal department heads of the State of Alaska.

Board members are appointed by the governor and subject to confirmation by the legislature.

The four new members will join existing AGDC board members Dave Cruz of Palmer, Alaska, David Wright of Anchorage, and Warren Christian from the town of North Pole.

The board changes come as AGDC is expected to sign a final joint development agreement with Chinese investors by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

These include companies such as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, and Chinese banks.

Dunleavy was sworn in as Alaska's governor on December 3. The former incumbent, Bill Walker, was an independent and dropped his re-election bid in October.

Dunleavy, a former state senator, won office by defeating Democratic former US Senator Mark Begich in November’s election.

The first agreement with Sinopec, a potential main customer for the project, was signed by AGDC in November 2017 to purchase up to 75 percent of the venture’s expected 20 million tonnes per annum of output.

The initial accord was signed during President Trump’s state visit to China in the presence of Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the state-owned company developing the Alaska LNG project, is expected to sign a final joint development agreement with Chinese companies and banks by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

ExxonMobil has signed a preliminary accord for the sale of its 13.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources in the Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson fields of Alaska's North Slope to Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the state-owned body leading the development of Alaska LNG.

Andeavor, the Texas-based energy and refining company, has acquired the Alaskan small Kenai liquefaction and export plant that was closed by previous owners ConocoPhillips in 2016 after shipping cargoes to Japan for more than 40 years.