The partners in the Alaska LNG Project have submitted a formal request to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission to start the pre-file process for the project, the companies said in a statement issued this morning.
Later in the morning the governor's office issued a statement confirming news reports from earlier in the day that the state and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry signed a memorandum of understanding on the Alaska LNG Project and other Alaskan natural resource development opportunities. Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash signed for the state.
The Alaska LNG Project formally entered the pre-front end engineering and design, or pre-FEED, stage in July, during which hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent on design and engineering, and the producers and the state will begin to engage the LNG market.
The MOU with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry "is yet another key milestone in the State's rapid advancement of the commercialization of our world-class North Slope natural gas resources - to Alaskans first and then to markets beyond," Gov. Sean Parnell said in today's statement.
The Alaska LNG Project partners - BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, TransCanada and the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. - said the FERC process lays the groundwork for the environmental review required for the siting, design and permitting for project construction.
- KRISTEN NELSON
See story in Sept. 14 issue, available online Friday, Sept. 12, at www.PetroleumNews.com.
