Ben Stanton, KDLL – Kenai
The pending closure of the liquefied natural gas facility in Nikiski might be getting pushed back a few months.
ConocoPhillips Alaska spokesperson Natalie Lowman says that although the contract to ship gas to Tokyo Electric and Tokyo Gas ended in March, they are expecting to have some “spot contracts” that could last into the summer. The original closure date was expected to be April or May.
Lowman says the long-term plans to mothball the LNG plant will not change, because there is a lack of long-term natural gas. Agreements have not been made final, and Lowman would not say where the shipments might be going.
The facility is co-owned by ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil. The LNG plant’s export license expires in March of 2013.
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