Alaska Delegation Engages Top LNG Consumers in South Korea

Alaskan governor Bill Walker and members of his oil and gas team met on September 27 with South Korean government and company officials about potential offtake, investment and partnership opportunities in Alaska’s LNG project.

“Korea spends at least $10 billion on LNG every year,” Walker said. “Alaska reinjects twice the amount of natural gas that the entire country of South Korea uses every day. That gives us an indication of the significant potential annual revenue for the state. Given Alaska’s deficit, it is imperative that we monetise our gas; it’s our number-one get-well card.”

He said that Alaska’s location makes it an attractive supply source for Korea. The Far East Asia nation currently imports LNG from the US Gulf of Mexico and the Middle East, where shipments can take up to 25 days to arrive. “Importing from Alaska would significantly shorten the delivery time—to about eight days. Alaska’s location makes our project strategically advantageous to Korea,” Walker said.

Governor Bill Walker (Credit: Office of the Governor)

Walker has been in Asia to market the proposed Alaska LNG project. Before leaving for the continent, he 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.

Japan and South Korea are the two largest LNG importers in the world.

The Alaskan 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 continue with the up-to-$65bn 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.

“We were able to confirm during our meetings (with Korean officials) that the Asian market will be looking for new sources to begin supplying LNG no later than 2023—which matches the Alaska LNG market delivery window,” he said.

Shardul Sharma