Once slated for mothballing, the Kenai LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula will begin exporting LNG again next year, operator ConocoPhillips said.

Spokeswoman Natalie Lowman said ConocoPhillips has secured natural gas supply for the facility and is in talks for spot sales of LNG to Asian markets. She said she could not provide more details. The plant’s export license expires in 2013, she said. It is yet to be determined whether a renewal will be sought.

Last week Sydney, Australia-based Buccaneer Energy Ltd. said it had a contract to supply gas to the LNG facility, which is about 10 miles northwest of Buccaneer’s Kenai Loop project. The deal gives Buccaneer the flexibility to flow gas from its Cook Inlet drilling while it awaits the completion of a nearby gas storage facility (see Daily GPI, Dec. 19).

Lowman said ConocoPhillips had other agreements for gas to supply the plant, but she said she could not say how many or provide any details. Exports from the Kenai terminal are to begin during the second half of next year. The terminal is currently in winterization mode.

Early this year the producer said it would be mothballing the terminal after more than 40 years of selling LNG to Japan. “We’ve basically said we couldn’t secure the necessary sales and supply agreements that would allow the plant to operate in a commercially viable manner,” Lowman said at the time (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11).

Operations at the terminal were then extended to last October to handle a one-off cargo (see Daily GPI, Oct. 24: Aug. 15).

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