Alaska's third special legislative session ended on Tuesday with lawmakers again failing to pass tax reform for the proposed 20mn t/yr Alaska LNG project, which developer Glenfarne had previously said was required to advance the project.
The bill is now unlikely to pass this year, after Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy (R) said there was "little reason" to proceed with the special session with lawmakers choosing not to earnestly debate his proposal. Dunleavy ordered the sessions after trying since March to pass a bill that would exempt Alaska LNG from the state's property tax law and replace it with a volume-based tax on the project's pipeline flows.
Dunleavy, who is term-limited and will leave office in December, introduced a compromise bill during the third session addressing lawmakers' push for a corporate income tax, but the proposal received little momentum.
Under the state's existing law, Alaska LNG would be exempt from property taxes only during construction, but not after it starts service. Dunleavy's proposal would have replaced the property tax with a volumetric tax on the project's pipeline flows. That tax would apply after throughputs reach a 30-day average of 1bn ft³/d or 10 years after the first flows, whichever occurs first, granting Glenfarne a ramp-up period and reducing its upfront tax burden. Glenfarne has said this relief is necessary to secure financing for the up to $55bn project.
Glenfarne's plans for Alaska LNG include two phases. The first encompasses construction of a 739-mile, 3.5bn ft³/d pipeline from Alaska's gas-rich North Slope to the state's south-central coast. The line would also supply the domestic market, which faces a looming gas supply shortage amid declining domestic production in the Cook Inlet. The second phase of adding the liquefaction terminal would come later with a separate financial decision.
Glenfarne hoped to begin construction on the pipeline in the first half of 2027, but that now is unlikely. The developer said last week that the lack of relief will delay the schedule and increase the project's cost.
"We are evaluating alternative paths forward while continuing to advance the commercial, engineering and financing work required to deliver the full Alaska LNG project, including the LNG export terminal," Glenfarne said in the statement.
