State gasline corporation quietly opens office in Tokyo

Alaska Public Media | By Rashah McChesney

Published January 19, 2017 at 5:07 PM AKST

Alaska Gasline Development Corporation President Keith Meyer, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack discuss meetings with potential buyers of Alaska’s LNG during a news conference Friday Sept. 30, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)

The state gasline corporation has opened a satellite office in Tokyo.

State officials and the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation have been working to market the state’s natural gas reserves to Asian markets.

Masatoshi Nick Shiratori confirmed by phone late Wednesday evening that he is running the new office in Japan.

Shiratori previously worked at Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Gas Shipping before he joined the state’s gasline team.

On January 19 a spokesperson for the corporation confirmed that the office is open. But, they have not yet announced it publicly.

Alaska’s gasline corporation is tasked with managing the massive Alaska LNG project that is expected to cost $45 billion to $65 billion to build. It’s still negotiating with ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips to take over the project.

In its current form, the LNG project would include an 800-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from the North Slope to Cook Inlet.