Alaska Buys Out TransCanada Stake in LNG Project
November 25 2015 - 1:40AM
Dow Jones News
Alaska paid $64.6 million to buy TransCanada Corp.'s stake in a
proposed project to ship natural gas by pipeline from the state's
North Slope to an export terminal on the coast.
The move, which was authorized by legislation passed by the
state earlier this month, gives Alaska direct ownership in the
project, along with partners BP PLC, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil
Corp. It comes at a time when the outlook for demand for liquefied
natural gas is uncertain amid a supply glut that has depressed once
lofty spot market prices for the fuel.
"By gaining an equal seat at the negotiating table, we are
taking control of our destiny and making significant progress in
our effort to deliver Alaska gas to the global market," Alaska Gov.
Bill Walker said in a statement Tuesday.
The project, known as Alaska LNG, would transport natural gas
from the North Slope fields, then liquefy the fuel at the facility
on Cook Inlet for shipment to markets in Asia. The project is
expected to cost between $45 billion and $65 billion.
Alaska LNG has yet to be approved for construction and wouldn't
start commercial shipments before 2023, according to filings by its
corporate backers.
In ceding its 25% stake, TransCanada said it would no longer
participate as an owner or potential operator. "We will not be
involved in any way," said company spokesman Mark Cooper.
Without TransCanada, it is unclear who will build and operate
the project's 800-mile-long pipeline.
TransCanada has been a proponent of an Alaskan natural gas
pipeline project dating back to at least 2007, and its corporate
website still includes Alaska LNG on its North American "asset
map."
Alaska LNG aims to produce as much as 20 million tons of LNG a
year, dwarfing the 1.2 million-ton capacity of Alaska's only
operating LNG facility, which was built in 1969 and is operated by
ConocoPhillips.
Write to Chester Dawson at chester.dawson@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2015 01:25 ET (06:25 GMT)
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