Governor Bill Walker Talks Alaska LNG Project with Japan
Alaskan governor Bill Walker September 9 met with officials from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, & Industry (METI), and the Japan Oil, Gas, and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) to discuss potential LNG exports to the Asian nation ahead of his travel to the continent.
In a statement issued September 13, the governor’s office said the parties discussed the recent shift towards a state-led LNG project, and other resource opportunities in Alaska. “Alaska’s relationship with Japan is a special one. Japan is the largest LNG-buying nation in the world, and their interest in Alaska is very encouraging,” the statement quoted Walker as saying.
Governor Bill Walker (Credit: Office of the Governor)
Walker travels to Asia later this month to market the Alaska LNG project. He will attend the CWC 8th World LNG and Gas Series – Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore. Walker will also travel to South Korea where he will meet government officials and corporates such as Kogas and GS Energy.
The state government is in the process of taking over the proposed Alaska LNG project after ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips late last month signaled they may not all continue with the $50bn project because of low energy prices. Walker last month said that the state plans to move forward with the project toward a January 2017 application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Alaska LNG would transport natural gas from the North Slope fields with liquefaction facility on Cook Inlet.
Shardul Sharma