DOE secretary calls Alaska LNG a top priority but cites pipeline financing hurdle

At a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing, a senator asked the Department of Energy where the Alaska LNG project ranks among domestic energy priorities, citing geopolitical demand for U.S. LNG.

The senator said Alaska has "extraordinary potential" for LNG and asked "where do you place the Alaska LNG project right now in terms of domestic priorities for advancement?"

The DOE secretary replied that, for energy infrastructure, he would "say number one." He described Alaska LNG as a "gigantic project" with multi-generational effects that could transform where people live in parts of Alaska and serve major LNG consumers in East Asia. "This is really a multi-generational massive America and ally improving infrastructure project," he said, and added that DOE staff hold frequent meetings on the project.

The secretary identified the core financing problem: the pipeline must be built first and is hard to finance, while the liquefied-natural-gas export terminal is easier to finance but depends on a financed pipeline. "The pipeline's hard to finance and you got to build the pipeline first. The LNG export terminal is not hard to finance but we can't finance that without financing the pipeline," he said. He said the department is pursuing multiple avenues and dedicating growing staff resources to the project and that DOE "will not rest until we have that project completed."

The senator closed by thanking the secretary for the commitment; the hearing segment ended with a pledge to keep working on financing and with follow-up to come.