The State of Alaska has approved ExxonMobil’s plan to engineer the expansion of the Point Thomson project on the North Slope, adding to the momentum of the Alaska LNG project.
“The Alaska LNG project has been endorsed by the Trump Administration and the Chinese government. Interest in this project has grown immensely in the last 45 days due to the historic Joint Development Agreement between the State of Alaska, Sinopec, the Bank of China and the Chinese Investment Corp.,” Alaska’s governor Bill Walker said.
The approval of the Point Thomson to Prudhoe Bay pipeline plan adds to the momentum of the Alaska LNG project as it is a step closer to moving gas from Point Thomson into Alaska Gasline Development Corp.’s 800-mile pipeline.
The Division of Oil and Gas had previously approved ExxonMobil’s plan for continued liquid condensate production from Point Thomson but declined to approve the expansion-related plan. The division asked for additional information on August 29, which was responded to on October 12, 2017, in a letter from ExxonMobil.
“It’s clear that ExxonMobil is committed to commercializing North Slope gas, particularly from Point Thomson. This helps align the company’s work in Alaska with the State of Alaska and AGDC,” said natural resources commissioner Andy Mack .