Larry Persily gives a presentation at the Kenai/Soldotna joint chamber luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Larry Persily gives a presentation at the Kenai/Soldotna joint chamber luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Economic analysis on LNG project expected soon

Dunleavy said one reason for attending the conference was to gauge investor interest in the project

  • By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
  • Friday, March 15, 2019 12:00am
  • News

JUNEAU — An analysis on whether a major liquefied natural gas project is economically viable is expected to be complete within the next two months, a top adviser to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Thursday.

Brett Huber said Dunleavy’s position has been that the project has to make sense for the state and be judged on the economics. Huber is with the Republican governor at an energy conference in Texas.

During a call with reporters Thursday, Dunleavy said one reason for attending the conference was to gauge investor interest in the project, which he said was lacking.

Alaska for years has pursued a gas project, seeing it as a way to help shore up state revenues, create jobs and provide in-state energy.

Dunleavy’s predecessor, Gov. Bill Walker, championed the latest version of the project, which courted Chinese partners and pursued the Asian market.

Larry Persily, a former federal co-ordinator of Alaska gas pipeline projects, in an interview said that Walker was “very sincere in his belief that this is essential to Alaska’s future and that we need to keep trying harder.” But he said the market has changed.

“Economically, I don’t know anyone in the industry who thinks the thing is viable at the moment. Not just economically,” Persily said. “We don’t have investors or partners. We don’t really have firm gas sale contracts for the life of the project.”

He said it’s good that an analysis is being done and sees value in the project at least completing the environmental review it is undergoing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

More in News

One of three recently admitted harbor seal pups is seen at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)
3 harbor seal pups admitted to SeaLife Center

All three came from the Copper River

Poster for Return of the Reds. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Food Bank)
Poster for Return of the Reds. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Food Bank)
Return of the Reds returns after several-year hiatus

The Kenai event celebrates the start of the 2023 salmon season

Middle schoolers practice fly casting into the Kenai River during a kids camp put on by Trout Unlimited on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at the Donald E. Gilman Kenai River Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Learning to love the watershed

Kids camp teaches fly fishing, ecology

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Seward man arrested on drug charges gave false identification, troopers say

Kevin Hakala, 42, was pulled over by Seward-based troopers on Saturday

Poster for 100% Alaska Town Hall & Family Day (Photo courtesy Change 4 the Kenai)
100% Alaska Town Hall to share assessment results, discuss state of ‘vital services’

The project is composed of four steps: assess, plan, act and evaluate

Division of Forestry & Fire Protection engines responding to the Charland Fire on May 21, 2023, near Soldotna. (Photo courtesy Kenai-Kodiak DOF)
9 fires reported on Kenai Peninsula since start of May

The largest local fire was the Charland Fire, which was reported on Sunday

File.
4 days in July set for Ninilchik razor clam harvest

The abundance of adult clams is below the threshold necessary to open the fishery in Clam Gulch

Most Read