Alaska LNG project secures financing proposals, targets 2027 construction start

The decades-discussed Alaska LNG project moved closer to reality Tuesday as Glenfarne Group CEO Brendan Duval announced the company has secured financing proposals from global banks to build the domestic pipeline, with construction targeted to begin in the first quarter of 2027.

Speaking at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, Duval said the project could deliver gas to Cook Inlet by late 2029 if two key approvals fall into place: tax stabilization legislation currently being negotiated in Juneau and Regulatory Commission of Alaska approval of an agreement with Enstar, the local gas utility.

"I can confirm I have received enough proposals of private financing on terms and conditions that once we convert that into long-form documentation, we can build the domestic pipeline, and that is very exciting," Duval said.

The project would solve Cook Inlet's gas shortage while enabling liquefied natural gas exports to Asia. Glenfarne has reached gas supply agreements with ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Hillcorp, and Pantheon that are being converted into long-form contracts. The export facility would process 20 million tonnes of LNG annually, with 80 percent of that capacity already allocated to buyers in Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and France under 20-year contracts.

"The first 6 million tonnes is going to Taiwan, 2 million tonnes to Thailand, another 2 million tonnes to Japan, the two biggest buyers out of Japan, JERA and Tokyo Gas, a million tonnes to Korea with POSCO, 2 million tonnes to the global French champion for LNG, Total, and then we have another customer we have not announced yet," Duval said.

The financing proposals depend on two critical conditions. One is a form of tax abatement stabilization arrangement being negotiated in Juneau. Senate Bill 275, which addresses tax stabilization for the project, was introduced March 5 and referred to the Resources and Finance committees. The Senate Resources committee heard the bill repeatedly through April 20, each time holding it without final action. The other condition is RCA approval of the Enstar agreement, which Duval said is in its final stages.

"These financing proposals that are in a, the pricing of the financing and the terms and conditions, they are subject to a couple of key things. One, a form of this tax abatement stabilization arrangement that is being negotiated in Juneau. That is a critical condition. Another condition is the RCA approving the NSTAR agreement," Duval said.

Governor Mike Dunleavy emphasized the project's urgency for Alaska's energy security. Cook Inlet gas supplies are diminishing rapidly, and the state experienced record cold temperatures in Fairbanks this winter, a record cold temperature in Anchorage in March, and record snows in January that drew down remaining reserves. Without the pipeline, Alaska would have to import gas at ever-increasing costs, he said.