Alaska’s Governor Bill Walker sined a liquefied natural gas agreement with Japan-based Resources Energy.
After the 2011 earthquake in Japan shut down the Fukushima nuclear power plant, several Japanese prefectures are looking to replace nuclear energy with liquefied natural gas supplies. Resources Energy chose Alaska as the preferred source of LNG for Japan. The state has provided LNG to Japanese markets for more than four decades.
Resources Energy is the American branch of Energy Resources, a Japanese company. REI was formed to explore the possibility of purchasing natural gas from Alaska and to build liquefaction facilities in order to export LNG to Japan. REI has also opened an office in Anchorage.
The company is also working on a smaller LNG project in Cook Inlet to begin deliveries by 2020. The state will work with REI on this project through a coordinated permitting system and potential partial funding through the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA).
Press Release; Image: gov.alaska.gov