Exciting News from Alaska’s North Slope – LNG Export Project Unveiled

October 24, 2019

At a Tuesday morning press conference in Anchorage, former Alaska Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell broke the news that had Alaskans calling, texting and emailing each other.

A partnership between Exxon (and its Point Thomson Unit) and Lloyd’s Energy of Dubai (through its subsidiary, Qilak LNG), would provide a way for Point Thomson’s natural gas to be exported to markets in Asia – specifically Japan, Korea and the Philippines.

Per an article in Must Read Alaska, Qilak “will be opening an [Anchorage] office to complete a feasibility study, environmental impact statement and export permits, that will lead to a final investment decision by 2021.  Financing could come from the Bank of Japan.”

Ed King, a longtime state Economist who now provides data and insight on Alaska’s resource development, offered commentary on his website where he outlined the proposed plan, and what it might mean for Alaska’s economy.  In it, he states:

“The idea is to build a floating LNG facility a few miles north of the Point Thompson Unit.  Natural gas would be transported via a subsea pipeline to the facility, which would then liquify the natural gas and store it until it is loaded onto tankers.”

Alaskans have heard of plans for monetizing the trillions of cubic feet of gas found on the Slope before.  All have had a hard time penciling out financially.  Tuesday’s announcement – which could provide 200 full-time jobs to the state and, per King, somewhere between $107 million and $416 million per year in additional state revenues – is welcome news, as the price for this project is much more feasible (an estimated $5 billion per King, as opposed to $60 billion or more for an 800-mile in-state pipeline).

Power The Future will continue to provide updates on this project as more information is brought forth.