US LNG developer Glenfarne signed a nonbinding agreement with Thailand's PTT for "strategic participation" in its proposed 20mn t/yr (2.67Bcf/d) Alaska LNG project, the companies said today.
The two firms signed a nonbinding cooperation agreement, under which PTT could buy 2mn t/yr of LNG from Alaska LNG over a 20-year term. PTT is now the second prospective offtaker to announce a preliminary agreement with the project, after Taiwan's state-owned CPC signed a letter of intent in March.
"Alaska LNG has now reserved 50 percent of its available third-party LNG offtake capacity to investment grade counterparties," said Adam Prestidge, president of Glenfarne Alaska LNG.
The 50pc number indicates the LNG developer may have unannounced agreements in place. A Glenfarne spokesperson declined to comment on a question detailing other potential offtake deals.
President Donald Trump has made Alaska LNG a priority in his administration's energy agenda, issuing an executive order on his first day in office aimed at "unleashing Alaska's extraordinary resource potential" and pressuring allies in Asia to make investments in Alaska LNG in exchange for a deal on tariffs.
Glenfarne plans to develop Alaska LNG, estimated to cost $44bn, in two phases with separate final investment decisions (FIDs). The first includes a natural gas treatment plant near the gas fields on Alaska's North Slope and a 765-mile pipeline south to the Anchorage area. The second phase would add compression equipment, a 42-mile connector pipeline to Nikiski, Alaska, where the 20mn t/yr liquefaction terminal would be built.
Both phases are independently financially viable, making it less risky for creditors and offtakers than if it were billed as one megaproject, Prestidge said at a conference in June.
Glenfare plans to reach FID on the pipeline phase by the end of the year but has not yet said when it expects to make a decision on the liquefaction terminal.
Glenfarne has a 75pc stake in Alaska LNG, with the remaining 25pc held by state-owned Alaska Gasline Development. The two companies are operating as the joint venture 8 Star Alaska.
