Posted on 06/02/2015 8:05:03 AM PDT by thackney
Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. said June 1 it received authorization to export liquefied natural gas to non-free trade agreement countries at its Alaska LNG terminal.
The proposed project received conditional authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy to export up to 20 million metric tons per year of LNG for 30 years. The terminal previously received authorization to export to countries with U.S. trade agreements.
“As with any large scale LNG project, access to as many markets as possible will improve the commercial viability of the proposed project,” Steve Butt, Alaska LNG senior project manager, said in a statement.
Along with Exxon affiliates, other Alaska LNG project participants are the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. and affiliates of TransCanada Corp., BP PLC and ConocoPhillips. ConocoPhillips is based in Houston, and Exxon, TransCanada and BP all have a significant presence in Houston.
The project would include a liquefaction facility, an 800-mile pipeline, up to eight natural gas compression stations and at least five take-off points for in-state gas delivery. It also includes a gas treatment plant on Alaska's North Slope, where Exxon has operations at Prudhoe Bay and Point Tomson.
Similar terminals are being built on the Gulf Coast, including Exxon's expansion of the LNG import terminal at Sabine Pass, converting it to an export terminal. The DOE currently takes several years to approve LNG permits to non-free trade agreement countries.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Concurrent Resolution 23 last week that urges the federal government to speed up the process. The resolution will be sent to President Barack Obama and high-ranking members of Congress.
Similar to the ongoing debate over lifting the ban on crude oil exports, advocates say the lengthy process takes too long and dates back to a time when the United States didn’t produce natural gas from shale. Producers such as Exxon are clamoring to get their natural gas to world markets where it can sell for three times as much.
However, some fear that widening the export of natural gas would cause the price to go up in the United States because it’s then tied to the world market.
Ping!
My uncle told me on FB Message that there been rumor about this among oil companies in Alaska not suprising
Hey, maybe we could dust off the feasibility studies I did in the late 70’s early 80’s. There is a whole lot of nat gas up there. It’s been compressed and re-injected ever since oil has been produced.
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