North Slope LNG Export Project Proposed
Qilak LNG, a new company headed by former Alaska Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell, announced that it plans to construct an LNG liquefaction facility at Point Thomson, Alaska, and ship LNG produced from the North Slope gas to Asian markets on ice-breaking tankers. Qilak is a subsidiary of Dubai-based Lloyds Energy. David Clarke, President and COO of Qilak, said the company has partnered with ExxonMobil, who has agreed to produce and sell at least 560 MMcf/day of natural gas from their Point Thomson field. Clarke says Qilak has already completed an initial feasibility study for the project, with a more detailed one to start next year. Ideally, the project would begin exporting LNG in the mid 2020s. The project is expected to cost one third less than the proposed Alaska LNG project because Qilak would not need the 800-mile pipeline proposed for the Alaska LNG project. Another difference between Qilak and Alaska LNG is that the Qilak project would not need state funding.