The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) has submitted its final responses to post-application data requests made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding Alaska LNG.
FERC asked AGDC 801 questions regarding various aspects of its application submitted on April 17, 2017, to obtain a Natural Gas Act Section 3 permit for Alaska LNG. Questions centered on what the agency identified as key issues, ranging from impacts on traditional Alaska native culture to turbidity and sedimentation analysis for impacts on fish.
In a December 2017 project update issued by FERC, the agency said, “When we have all of the information necessary to complete our analysis and write the EIS [Environmental Impact Statement], we will issue a Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review identifying the issuance date for the final EIS.”
AGDC expects FERC will determine they now have the information necessary to complete their analysis and will soon publish a schedule for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process in the federal register that outlines the activities over the next year to develop a draft EIS and a final EIS. The outcome of this NEPA process will be a FERC order that authorizes AGDC to construct Alaska LNG.
Alaska LNG is an integrated gas infrastructure project with three major components: a gas treatment plant located at Prudhoe Bay, an 807-mile pipeline to Southcentral Alaska with offtakes for in-state use, and a natural gas liquefaction facility in Nikiski to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export.
“AGDC’s thorough and quick response to FERC’s 801 data requests advances Alaska LNG closer to construction,” said Keith Meyer, president, AGDC. “Today’s accomplishment, on top of recent commercial agreements, is a clear signal to the markets that Alaska LNG is on track to deliver energy stability at competitive prices by 2024/2025.”