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March 8 (Reuters) - A U.S. energy regulatory report for
Alaska Gasline Development Corp's proposed Alaska liquefied
natural gas project found it would provide economic benefits to
the state but could cause some significant adverse environmental
impacts.
In the final environmental impact statement (EIS), issued on
Friday, staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
concluded that most environmental impacts "would be reduced to
less than significant levels with the implementation of proposed
or recommended" measures.
But it added: "Some impacts would be adverse and
significant," including to the permafrost, wetlands, forest and
caribou.
The EIS is a mandatory step toward gaining federal approval
to build and operate the project. FERC is the federal agency
responsible for authorizing onshore LNG facilities for the
export of natural gas.
FERC is scheduled to issue its final order for the project
in June.
"The final EIS is a milestone in the Alaska LNG permitting
process – a process still with significant hurdles," Alaska
Governor Mike Dunleavy said in a statement.
"We look forward to reviewing the EIS and receiving the
record of decision from FERC, at which point we will evaluate
our next steps," Dunleavy said, noting the project must be led
by private enterprise.
Alaska Gasline, which has estimated Alaska LNG would cost
about $43.4 billion, has signed agreements with BP PLC
and Exxon Mobil Corp to help advance the development of
the project.
BP and Exxon Mobil produce massive amounts of oil in Alaska
and have discovered huge gas resources that are stranded in the
North Slope. The project would allow that gas to access markets
around the world.
Alaska LNG is designed to liquefy about 3.5 billion cubic
feet per day (bcfd) of gas from a facility to be built in
Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula southwest of Anchorage. It
includes an 807-mile (1,300-km) pipeline from the North Slope.
One billion cubic feet is enough gas to fuel about 5 million
U.S. homes for a day.
Alaska LNG is just one of more than four dozen LNG export
projects under development in the United States, Canada and
Mexico, including at least two others in Alaska.
Just looking at projects under construction, U.S. LNG
capacity is expected to jump to 10.0 bcfd by the end of 2020
from 8.5 bcfd now, putting the country on track to become the
world's biggest LNG exporter by the mid 2020s.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Peter
Cooney)
