The board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation met in a special meeting on Thursday and voted to allow the corporation’s President Frank Richards to sign a major project development agreement with Glenfarne, the company that had earlier signed an earlier letter of intent to build the Alaska Gasline.
AGDC and Glenfarne, with its subsidiary 8-Star, signed definitive agreements for Glenfarne to become majority owner of Alaska LNG, which is the only federally permitted LNG export project on the US Pacific Coast.
Under the agreement, AGDC divests 75% of 8 Star Alaska, a subsidiary that AGDC created to hold and manage all Alaska LNG project assets, to Glenfarne.
Glenfarne assumes the role of Alaska LNG’s lead developer and will lead all remaining development work of Alaska LNG from front-end engineering and design (“FEED”) through to a final investment decision (“FID”).
AGDC remains a 25 percent owner of 8 Star Alaska and a key partner to Glenfarne on the project.
Alaska LNG is designed to deliver North Slope natural gas to Alaskans and Alaska utilities and export up to 20 million tons of LNG per year, AGDC said.
AKLNG’s three sub-projects are an 807-mile 42-inch pipeline, the LNG export terminal in Nikiski, and a North Slope-based carbon capture plant to remove and safely store 7 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
In light of steadily declining gas production from Cook Inlet, which has historically been Alaska’s primary in-state natural gas basin, phase one of the project will kick off immediately, prioritizing the development and final investment decision of the pipeline infrastructure needed to deliver North Slope gas to Alaskans as rapidly as possible, AGDC said.
This means a lot of activity could happen within weeks with front-end engineering and design, with the final investment decision due in the fourth quarter of this year. Gas could be available for export by 2030-31.
The AKLNG project could add 12,000 construction jobs to Alaska. Jobs would include 1,566 pipe fitters and welders, 1,864 engineers, 2,311 laborers, 447 iron workers, 397 electricians, 295 carpenters, and others, particularly those who are in supply chains and logistics.
The gasline is a priority for President Donald Trump, who singled it out in his address to a joint session of Congress.
Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been on an extended trip throughout Asia to help establish customers for the export of Alaska LNG. He phoned into a press Q&A on Thursday evening to add details and context to the news of the agreement approval.
Dunleavy said he met with the leaders of Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, some of America’s closest allies in Asia, who also have some of the world’s leading trade surpluses with the US. He has obtained a letter of intent from Taiwan to purchase Alaska natural gas.
“Today is a historic day for Alaska. Oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay almost exactly 57 years ago and since then Alaskans have never given up on finding a way to also benefit from our North Slope natural gas,” Dunleavy said in a statement. “Alaska has made a significant investment to develop Alaska LNG to the point where we can engage Glenfarne, a well-qualified industry leader, to bring this great project to the finish line. Alaska LNG will strengthen the U.S. geostrategic position in the North Pacific, provide vital energy security for our residents, our military bases, our businesses, and our Asian allies, and unlock billions in economic benefit at home and abroad.”
The next step involves Richards finalizing legally binding development agreements. He said the most accelerated part of the project will be to get the natural gas to Alaskans first.
“I’m incredibly proud of the ADGC team that has worked tirelessly over the past eleven years to develop Alaska LNG. Through persistence, hard work, and the determination that characterizes the Alaska spirit, Alaska LNG has successfully advanced through the design and permitting gauntlet to ignite global market momentum and attract a world-class developer, Richards said. “Alaska LNG will ensure a brighter future for generations of Alaskans and I look forward to working with Glenfarne as they lead Alaska LNG forward.”
The Legislature will still have to approve the final investment decision from the state’s side.
Glenfarne Chief Executive Officer and Founder Brendan Duval said, “Glenfarne’s financial, project management, and commercial expertise is well matched to lead this vital project forward. Alaska LNG will provide desperately needed energy security and natural gas cost savings for Alaskans and give Glenfarne unmatched flexibility to simultaneously serve LNG markets in both Asia and Europe through our three LNG projects. Glenfarne strongly believes in the benefit of partnering with the communities where we work, and we are already building our Alaska team to bring Alaska LNG to life.”
Currently, AGDC is updating engineering and design work, aided by a $50 million line of credit approved in late 2024 by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
AKLNG is advancing and this is an important step, but until dirt is turned, Alaskans will not be blamed for taking a wait-and-see approach to the stage-gated process.
Paper is one thing. Steel is another. We shall see.
Excellent news
Keeping up with progress.
Notice the company names they listed.
AIG – Rick Niu and Hank Greenberg.
Cheniere – Hunter was kissing their CEO’s ass in 2017.
Kirkland Ellis – might remember both Bill Barr & Viet Dinh (FOX CLO) were partners.
LNG Limited – Aussie company that gave up its rights on Magnolia. (CIA Advisory oversight – Woolsey)
Noble Group – look into their history.
Yeah…….rrrright.
Boy is that last paragraph correct. I’d say chance of gas ever flowing is <5%. Too many lawyers, environmental groups, and activists judges.
Hard to believe the gas owners on the NorthSlope remain silent ? Lots of gas up there and totally under control of the majors as far as current producible gas . However trillions of cubic feet of gas under state owned leases that are not under current contract . Are we going to see the biggest gas rush and gas drilling operation on the north slope ? Remains to be seen as a lot of unanswered questions . Still sounds like pipe dream to me . We will need much more info before I would give this press release any credibility .
Glendarne?
Been in the oil & gas biz my whole life – never heard of them.
I’m sure they’ll be able take on one of the Top 5 Industrial projects if all time.
Sure
Your last sentence says it all.
The mantra after the boom money resulting from TransAlaska Pipeline System was squandered by the State legislature said: “Lord, we promise to not piss away the next boom”. Well, I don’t have any hope at all that the legislature will do anything different.
The Alaskans have not been asked if they want what is being shoved at them. Dunleavy still does not lead with good intentions. Who gets what is part of the process that Alaskans should be a part of in the decision. So I suggest that all persons interested in this step up and ,make yourselves known.
Eat that, Husk Biden!
I don’t know much at all about the oil and gas industry. But in my view one key component missing in all the press coverage about this latest Alaska gas line notion is that North Slope natural gas owners are never mentioned. No one from Exxon, Conoco or Hilcorp is in any of the many photographs commemorating what Alaskans are being told is progress. Existing and prospective North Slope lease sales are not even suggested, let alone specified. The Legislature is in session and has various tax increases for those 3 North Slope natural gas supply owners under consideration yet apparently no reporter has located those companies to obtain their perspectives about possible sales of gas to this touted deal. At least to me the absence of the supply owners suggests that we are still at the same stage for this project that we find ourselves with selling Alaska water to CA, connecting the AK RR to the Canadian rail system, and building a huge data storage industry somewhere on the Dalton Hwy. I hope the Alaska news media will soon dig deeper and be more thorough.
Exactly.
But – the politicos and AIDEA will be able grift millions and millions of $’s for more studies, I’m sure – again.
And again, again, and again.
Just like the road to Juneau. with all the study money it could have been built years ago.
I wonder if higher prices due to tariffs on steel have been factored into the cost of construction?
Lets get this party started…where is Hunter Biden?
He knows how to raise serious cash.
If the Majors wanted a gas line, and believed they could get it done, it would happen. They have never really shown much interest. The original pipeline required an Act of Congress. Literally.
The letter of intent with Taiwan is non-binding and a poor substitute for toilet paper
Why wasn’t a gas pipeline built decades ago?
All we did was build a massive, completely incompetent, useless and corrupt state government.
Forgot to mention how much Alaska is going to pay them to take the gas off our hands, kinda like the oil.
A Politician is has never produced a drop of oil or gas in Ak . That’s a huge part of the problem . You need a politician and a prostitute for the same thing , they are interchangeable in Alaska . A politician in Juneau is nothing more than a prostitute in my mind .
“Just float the LNG down here in balloons.”
-Frank Rast
(Probably)