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By Steve Quinn
JUNEAU, Alaska, July 21 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp, its partners and the state of Alaska are seekingfederal permission to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from amultibillion-dollar project that includes an 800-mile pipelinecutting across the state from Alaska's North Slope, the groupsaid on Monday.
The development is part of a series of recent steps taken toeventually market 35 trillion cubic feet of North Slope reserveswith project costs ranging from $45 billion to $65 billion.
The moves follow a decades-long effort that had stalled,either from drastic global market changes, such as the infusionof shale natural gas throughout the Lower 48, or politicallogjams.
"Filing of an export application is a critical step incommercializing North Slope natural gas," Steve Butt, an ExxonMobil employee who serves as the senior project manager, said ina statement.
The group, made up of North Slope leaseholders Exxon,ConocoPhillips, BP Plc , pipeline companyTransCanada Corp and the state, earlier this monthsigned a joint venture agreement to begin investing millionsinto preliminary engineering work for the next 18 months.
In April, the state's Legislature solidly backed GovernorSean Parnell's plan to work with the industry on a projectdevelopment contract.
The group filed the permit with the U.S. Department ofEnergy late on Friday, asking permission to export 20 millionmetric tons of LNG annually to existing free trade and nonfree-trade countries.
Most of the public discussion has called for the gas to tapin to Asia's rising demand for LNG and be available in themid-2020s, according to state projections.
The permit seeks approval for 30 years of exports datingfrom when the gas is first shipped or 12 years from whenpermission is granted, whichever comes first.
The 212-page application calls the development the "largestintegrated gas/LNG project of its kind ever designed andconstructed."
In addition to the 42-inch diameter, 800 mile-long line fromthe North Slope to an LNG plant and terminal in Cook Inlet, theproject would feature a North Slope gas treatment plant, a58-mile line from the Point Thomson gas field to the east ofPrudhoe Bay.
"Alaska's LNG Project is on the right track with hundreds ofAlaskans out in the field this summer working to secure permitsand hundreds more working to refine the engineering and designchallenges of the project," Parnell said. (Editing by Anna Driver and Matthew Lewis)
