The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) has signed an exclusive agreement with Glenfarne Group to advance the development of the $44bn Alaska LNG Project.

Glenfarne will lead and fund the project development with natural gas delivery expected by 2031 and LNG exports following soon after, reported Reuters.

The project includes an Arctic Carbon Capture plant on the North Slope, an LNG export facility in Nikiski, and an 807-mile pipeline connecting the North Slope with Southcentral Alaska.

The pipeline is designed to transport up to 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope to communities within the state and an export terminal located south of Anchorage.

The project received its initial approval during Donald Trump's presidency and was authorised by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2020, with final legal approval granted in 2022, despite facing opposition from environmental groups.

AGDC president Frank Richards said: “The company involved brings extensive US and international natural gas and LNG experience to bear to this project.”

Glenfarne also manages the Texas LNG Project, a natural gas export facility in south Texas.

In addition to the AGDC agreement, Glenfarne has secured a second exclusive agreement with ENSTAR Natural Gas Company to develop natural gas import infrastructure at the Nikiski site, introducing new gas supplies to Southcentral Alaska.

ENSTAR's import project would feature a land-based design for regasification facilities, excluding floating gas storage units.

It includes a terminal for receiving LNG tankers and the necessary facilities to convert the liquid back to gas for ENSTAR's systems.