It’s been almost a year since Glenfarne Group LLC took over development of the Alaska LNG Project. And since then, it’s netted a handful of nonbinding agreements from companies tentatively interested in becoming natural gas customers. But where others have come from places like Taiwan and Japan, the latest comes from a company that does business in Alaska.
Donlin Gold LLC and Glenfarne announced a nonbinding, early-stage agreement last week. Under it, Glenfarne would lend Donlin its pipeline expertise and Donlin would buy natural gas from Glenfarne.
According to a press release, Donlin would buy 50 million cubic feet of natural gas from the Alaska LNG Project each day. That’s about 1.5% of the project’s daily capacity. Glenfarne says adding new commercial natural gas customers brings potential costs down for all buyers.
While Glenfarne’s been working on the gasline, Donlin’s been trying to get its own project off the ground. And it thinks Glenfarne may be able to help. Separate from Glenfarne’s massive, roughly 800-mile, gasline, Donlin is proposing its own, smaller natural gas pipeline that would power operations at its proposed gold mine in Southwest Alaska.
But neither the Alaska gasline nor the Donlin gold mine are a sure thing. Donlin’s waiting for a feasibility study before deciding whether to move forward. And Glenfarne hasn’t decided to develop the pipeline yet, either.
A natural gas pipeline that spans the state has been floated for decades, but it’s long been stymied by a steep price tag. The most recent cost estimate puts it around $44 billion. But that’s an old number. So, Glenfarne enlisted a private company, Worley, to update that estimate.
Last week, a Glenfarne spokesperson said the update is complete. But Glenfarne won’t publish the new cost. And Glenfarne hasn’t decided whether it’s actually going to move forward with development. Initially, the company said to expect a development decision by the end of 2025. Now, a development decision on the pipeline is expected in the coming weeks.
