Alaska LNG Project Costs Soar Past $44B

The Alaska LNG project, in which US President Donald Trump announced South Korea's participation in investment, has been estimated to cost between $44.5 billion and $54.5 billion.

This estimate, provided by energy developer Glenpoint, is more than double the cost of similar projects along the US Gulf Coast.

The project, which would involve building a 1,300-kilometer pipeline from northern Alaska to Nikiski in the south, as well as a North Slope gas treatment plant and liquefaction terminal, has been criticized by experts who question whether Asian buyers are willing to pay a premium for supply security.

Glenpoint first presented this estimate to the Alaska State Legislature in June. According to Reuters, the project's production capacity of 20 million tons per year amounts to $2.2 billion to $2.7 billion per 1 million tons, making it the most expensive US LNG export project proposed to date.