Request for comments for LNG extension

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy is accepting comments through Aug. 2 on the application by ConocoPhillips Alaska and Marathon Oil Co. for extension of the export license for the Kenai liquefied natural gas facility.

The application, filed June 8, requests two additional years to export the volume of natural gas, 99 trillion British thermal units (98.1 billion cubic feet) currently authorized for export through March 31, 2011.

The companies are applying for a two-year authorization, beginning April 1, 2011, and ending March 31, 2013, to export a quantity of LNG equal to the difference between the 99 trillion Btu already authorized for export and the cumulative volume exported from April 1, 2009, through March 31, 2011.

Seven Alaska legislators, all Anchorage Democrats, called on the companies to commit to meeting local needs before exporting more Alaska gas.

The companies said in their application that giving them two more years to complete the export of the 99 trillion Btu would enhance local supply security because the Kenai LNG facility would continue to provide backup natural gas service to meet peak needs for the local market in the winter, while during the summer the facility’s base level of demand would ensure production from wells was not curtailed or shut-in, protecting reserves and deliverability for the winter months.

—Petroleum News