Japan a Potential Market for Alaskan Gas

Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski will travel to Japan to discuss natural gas exports and nuclear energy with top government officials this week as the state looks at other markets for its huge supply of natural gas, US News said Monday quoting a spokesman.

Market for Alaskan gas in lower 48 states has been eliminated with the recent boom in shale gas output.

However, for Alaska, Japan remains a lucrative market. “Alaska is closer to Japan than the lower 48 states, so it makes sense to ship Alaska's gas there," said Robert Dillon, a spokesman for Murkowski, US News reported.

Alaska has a long history of exporting small amounts of natural gas to Japan, but the talks taking place this week will look at a bigger project, Dillon said.