Alaska Inks MoU with Largest Financier of LNG Projects

Alaska ‘s Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan traveled to Japan this week to sign an agreement with one of the world’s largest financiers of LNG projects, speak at a global LNG conference, and engage in bilateral meetings with business and government officials.

“The goal of this trip was to build upon the extensive engagement that the Parnell Administration has undertaken in the past few years to develop strong relationships with the world’s leading LNG buyers, their governments, and consumers,” Sullivan said.

A key element of the trip was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Natural Resources and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). JBIC is a financial institution that plays a critical role in financing and securing Japan’s LNG imports. Sullivan and JBIC Managing Director Koichi Yajima signed the MOU in Tokyo.

“We are pleased to begin this formal dialogue with JBIC. The agreement we’ve signed focuses on opportunities for Japanese companies and JBIC to become involved in resource development projects in Alaska – in particular, a large-volume liquefied natural gas pipeline and export facility,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan participated in the opening session of the Japanese government’s 2nd LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo, which drew an estimated 800-plus attendees from more than 50 countries, including senior executives from some of the world’s largest energy companies and utilities, and senior government officials from several Asian countries.

As an invited speaker in the conference’s “New Players, New Projects, & New Business” session, Sullivan provided a detailed overview of Alaska’s natural gas pipeline development projects and the state’s competitive advantages in the Pacific Rim LNG export market. Despite the session’s focus on new players and projects, Sullivan reminded conference attendees that Alaska supplied LNG to Japan for over 40 years and has an unmatched record of reliability. This is the second time Sullivan has represented the State of Alaska at the conference – he also spoke at the inaugural LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Sept. 2012.

Sullivan’s schedule in Japan this week included meetings with senior officials from Mitsui and Co., Osaka Gas Co., Tokyo Gas Co., Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Resources Energy, Inc. (REI), BP-Asia Pacific, ExxonMobil, Apache Corp., Korea Gas Corp., DOWA Metals and Mining Co., and Sumitomo Metal and Mining Co. He was also scheduled to meet with senior Japanese government officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan (METI), JBIC, the Japan National Security Council, and the Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC); the leaders of two influential energy think tanks, the Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) and the International Energy Agency (IEA); officials from the U.S. Embassy-Japan; and Tokyo-based energy reporters.

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LNG World News Staff, January 15, 2014; Image: sullivan2014