US Energy Department authorises Alaska LNG exports

The Energy Department has issued a conditional authorisation for the Alaska LNG Project, LLC (Alaska LNG) to export domestically produced LNG to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. Subject to environmental review and final regulatory approval, Alaska LNG, in the Nikiski Area of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, is authorised to export LNG up to the equivalent of 2.55 billion ft³/d of natural gas for a period of 30 years.

Federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have an FTA with the US. For countries that do not have an FTA with the US, the Natural Gas Act directs the Department of Energy to grant export authorisations unless the Department finds that the proposed exports “will not be consistent with the public interest.”

The Department considered the Alaska application separately from other currently pending LNG export applications in the lower 48 states due to the relative geographic isolation of the natural gas resources on Alaska’s North Slope. North Slope gas has been a stranded resource unavailable to commercial markets. The project proposed by Alaska LNG includes a pipeline intended to make North Slope gas accessible to consumers.

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/29052015/us-energy-department-authorises-alaska-lng-exports-865/