Alaska political leaders excited by President Trump’s backing of gas pipeline in address to Congress

Alaska political leaders on Wednesday broadly welcomed President Donald Trump’s remarks to Congress talking up the prospects of the state’s long-sought but faltering natural gas pipeline.

In his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, the president said, “It will be truly spectacular. It’s all set to go.”

Trump said South Korea and Japan want to partner and invest “trillions of dollars each” into the “gigantic” pipeline, which has been estimated to cost $44 billion. Japanese news outlets reported Tuesday that no final investment decisions had been made by either nation.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy — who earlier in his political career was skeptical of the pipeline — said that the president’s support “will ensure this massive LNG project is completed, and clean Alaska gas supplies our Asian allies and our Alaskan residents for decades to come.”

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said on social media that “the stars are aligned like never before” for the project, which he called “a decades-long energy dream for Alaska.”

In a later post, Sullivan said that he and Dunleavy had urged Trump to give Alaska LNG a “shout out” in his congressional address.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who in recent days has been critical of Trump’s moves to fire federal employees en masse, freeze federal funding and publicly criticize Ukraine’s president, thanked Trump for promoting the pipeline on the national stage.

“This project can provide Alaska and the world with clean and affordable energy for decades to come, while creating thousands of new jobs and generating billions of dollars in new revenues,” Murkowski said.

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich said, “Alaska is poised to play a central role in America’s energy resurgence.”

The decades-long plan to construct an 800-mile pipeline to deliver natural gas from the North Slope for export has stalled in recent years.

In his speech to Congress, Trump said, “My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska, among the largest in the world, where Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partner with investments of trillions of dollars each. It has never been anything like that one. It will be truly spectacular. It’s all set to go. The permitting has gotten.”

The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. — the state agency leading the project — has state and federal permits, but it has not secured financing.

A corporation spokesperson thanked Trump on Wednesday for his “vocal advocacy” for the pipeline.

“There is tremendous momentum behind Alaska LNG from potential offtakers, financiers, and other partners eager to participate in this national energy infrastructure priority,” said Tim Fitzpatrick, an AGDC spokesperson, by email.

Conservative Republican state legislators have been more supportive and optimistic about the project in recent months. The Republican House minority caucus thanked Trump for prioritizing Alaska LNG.

“The proposed LNG project will not only be a huge boost to the economy of Alaska but provide the nation with long term energy security and provide our allies in the global marketplace with needed resources,” said Anchorage GOP Rep. Mia Costello, the House minority leader.

But Alaska state lawmakers have remained broadly skeptical.

The Legislature last year planned to shutter AGDC because it had failed to deliver a pipeline.

”There’s still a lot we need to learn,” said Anchorage Democratic Rep. Donna Mears, chair of the House Energy Committee.

Legislators have questioned who will finance the project, who will buy the gas, whether a connection would be built to deliver gas to Fairbanks, and if the state would need to invest some of its resources to see the pipeline built.

Members of the Senate majority recently estimated that the state had already spent well over $1 billion to advance the pipeline and related projects.

AGDC recently announced that Glenfarne, a New York-based company, in January signed an exclusive agreement with the state agency to lead development of the project.

Palmer Republican Sen. Shelley Hughes said at the time that the outlook for Alaska LNG was “more positive than it’s ever been.”

One factor that has revived interest: Trump’s tariff threats against Japan and South Korea, The New York Times reported.

Japanese news outlets reported on Tuesday that while South Korea and Japan’s governments are continuing to study the project, no final investment decisions have been made.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told Japan’s parliament on Tuesday that “we will carefully examine its technical possibilities and profitability,” The Japan Times reported.

Larry Persily, an oil and gas analyst and former Alaska deputy commissioner of revenue, said it would be significant if Japan and South Korea signed binding agreements to buy Alaska gas. Pledging to examine the project would be familiar to Alaskans, he said.

“We’ve had decades of that,” he said.

Nick Fulford, an analyst with the Legislature’s oil and gas consultant GaffneyCline, presented to legislative committees on Wednesday about the global gas market and Alaska LNG.

Fulford said Alaska LNG would be a “very expensive project” due to capital costs, but its operating costs would be relatively low. The Alaska project’s vulnerabilities — compared to gas developments in the Middle East — are based on “capital cost inflation,” he said.

GaffneyCline’s forecasts for natural gas demand in coming decades range widely, so do cost estimates for construction of the Alaska pipeline.

Persily said at lower demand levels, Alaska LNG does not seem to be needed in the global market. Wide-ranging cost estimates to complete the project are a cause for concern, he said.

“We’re far away from having a reasonable, confident estimate,” Persily said. “Is it a $44 billion project? Is it $50 billion? Is it $60 billion? We don’t know.”