General – LNG
According to Aleksandr Butov, Regional Division Director / Executive Director of TIC ENERGY LLC, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have unexpectedly played into the hands of the American gas megaproject Alaska LNG.
Management of Glenfarne, the project operator, stated that Asian buyers are increasingly interested in Alaskan gas amid supply disruptions from the conflict zone in the Middle East. The project is estimated to cost $44 billion. And construction of Alaska LNG is scheduled to begin in 2026–2027, with exports scheduled for 2031.
Project approval had previously been delayed due to a lack of signed contracts. Investors require the company to contract 80% of future capacity (20 million tonnes of LNG per year).
Glenfarne currently has preliminary agreements to supply 13 million tonnes of LNG annually.
To secure financing and begin construction, the company needs firm commitments for another 3 million tonnes. According to Glenfarne Alaska LNG President Adam Prestige, negotiations have intensified precisely because of events in the Middle East.
The current goal is to transform the existing framework agreements into full-fledged long-term contracts.
Company CEO Brendan Duval clarified that negotiations with two potential buyers for the remaining 3 million tonnes are in the final stages and he hopes the deals will be concluded soon.
The reason for this interest is that the Gulf War has effectively blocked supplies from Qatar, a key player in the Asian market. Its tankers are unable to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Duval emphasized Alaska’s unique advantage: it is the only supplier whose gas to Northern Asia bypasses all dangerous “bottlenecks” (straits and channels that are easily blocked). This explains the interest from Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. For example, Japan’s largest importers, JERA and Tokyo Gas, have already signed preliminary agreements to purchase 2 million tons per year.
As for logistics, the Greek company Danaos has promised to provide tankers by the project’s launch. Notably, transporting gas from Alaska doesn’t require special ice-class vessels: according to Duval, the ice conditions allow the use of standard LNG carriers, which are readily available to any global company.
