Alaska asks ConocoPhillips to reopen LNG plant

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2013/09/17/3080033/state-asks-conocophillips-to-reopen.html



In this February 2002 file photo, a liquefied natural gas plant in Nikiski, Alaska, operated by ConocoPhillips is shown from the air.

Alaska asks ConocoPhillips to reopen LNG plant
Published: September 17, 2013 Updated 21 hours ago
By DAN JOLING — Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The state of Alaska wants ConocoPhillips to reopen its mothballed Kenai Peninsula liquefied natural gas plant to provide an incentive for petroleum companies to explore and invest in Cook Inlet.

In a Sept. 5 letter to ConocoPhillips President Trond-Erik Johansen, acting Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash requested that the company apply for a three-year federal LNG export license for the plant at Nikiski, about 70 miles southwest of Anchorage.

ConocoPhillips in March announced it would not extend its natural gas export license beyond March 31 but said it would consider a new license if the needs of local gas markets were met and sufficient natural gas was on hand to export.

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"Without market opportunities for gas discoveries, companies lack the incentive to invest in continued exploration activities," he wrote. "In addition to the economic challenges this would present for those employed in the Cook Inlet energy industry, a lack of healthy exploration now may lead to supply contractions in the future as existing wells' production levels decline."