Alaska LNG Project Defends High Costs with Shipping Savings to Asia

Alaska LNG’s developer, Glenfarne, claims that the project’s cost advantages in shipping natural gas to Asia will make it competitive despite its massive price tag. The company argues that shipping LNG from Alaska’s North Slope to Asia will be at least 65% cheaper than sending it from the US Gulf Coast once the project is complete. Tim Fitzpatrick, Glenfarne’s communications director, emphasized that the lower shipping costs justify the billions in infrastructure investment required.

The project, supported by former President Donald Trump, involves an 800-mile pipeline transporting gas from Alaska’s North Slope to an LNG export plant in southern Alaska. Critics have raised concerns about the project’s estimated cost, ranging from $44.5 billion to $54.5 billion, which translates to roughly $2.2 billion to $2.7 billion per million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG capacity. However, Glenfarne argues that this comparison is misleading because it includes the costs of pipeline and gas treatment infrastructure needed to access stranded gas in the North Slope.

Glenfarne maintains that the project’s competitiveness should be measured by the delivered cost of LNG rather than upfront spending. The company has already secured customers for 13 million tons per year of LNG and needs 16 million tons annually to support project financing. South Korea has been mentioned as a potential financier, though Seoul has not confirmed its role in the project.