LNG exports to restart from Alaska to Japan

14 June, 2012 ConocoPhillips will deliver 4 or 5 cargoes to Japan this year.

ConocoPhillips has announced its intention to restarting the shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Alaska.

The company revealed that it plans on exporting four or five of the fuel shipments from the US state in the coming year, with Japan being the main beneficiary of the deliveries. ConocoPhillips had recently pondered shutting its Alaskan facility which was originally built in 1969.

It is the only LNG plant in the US, and it supplied Tokyo Gas and Tokyo Electric, but in 2011 it was earmarked for closure as there was currently no contract in place with the Japanese capital.

However, the plant is set to be used once again later in the year despite the contract's beneficiary not being disclosed.

Spokeswoman Natalie Lowman said: "It's too early to speculate on what might happen after 2012, but all potential uses for the plant depend on local needs, the volume of Cook Inlet natural gas production, or the availability of a natural gas via a pipeline."

The move comes after De La Rey Venter, Shell's head of global LNG, predicted that the market will tighten over the next three years with Australia becoming the major power within the industry.

? Adfero Ltd

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