Qilak LNG Still Sees Quicker Path to Alaska LNG Exports With Smaller, $5B Project

Qilak LNG is pushing ahead with a plan to invest $5 billion to develop a liquefied natural gas export terminal offshore Alaska that management believes can better compete for Asian demand with PAO Novatek’s Yamal facility in Russia.

As offtakers in the Far East are looking to diversify supplies, Qilak plans to differentiate itself from other natural gas export projects in Alaska by capitalizing on the latest Arctic LNG technology as an offshore project. It also has a shorter, cheaper route to Asian markets compared to Russia’s Yamal project, said Qilak CEO Mead Treadwell.

Owned by Dubai-based LNG developer, Lloyds Energy, the facility would export natural gas directly from the North Slope. This makes the project cheaper to develop than Alaska LNG, which relies on an...