Begich said his support for the project allows him to set aside political differences.
Former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich talks about his vision for downtown Anchorage outside the Wildbirch Hotel on June 25, 2025. The governor’s office has hired former Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich to pitch for the Alaska LNG megaproject, aligning two former political foes on a plan that has long stymied state leaders trying to get it built.
Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy defeated Begich in the 2018 governor’s race, when the Democrat blasted the then-former lawmaker over the state’sHe spoke alongside officials with the developer, Glenfarne and 25% partner, Alaska Gasline Development Corp., a state agency.Begich had worked under a similar contract between the law firm and the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. for five years, he said. But with the state agency facing limited funding, and with Glenfarne taking over the project, the governor last year proposed that Begich work for his office promoting the pipeline, Begich said. “Now, that doesn’t mean, anytime he calls on a project, doesn’t mean I’m jumping, because some stuff I don’t agree with,” said Begich, also a former Anchorage mayor.If it can be built, Alaska LNG would move natural gas from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska in an 800-mile pipeline. It would deliver gas to Alaskans starting in 2029. It would then deliver to Asian entities starting in 2031, using export facilities built to ship liquefied natural gas, or LNG.But many observers say Alaska LNG has advanced farther than its predecessors. An executive with Glenfarne said at the Monday hearing that the U.S. war against Iran has given the project new momentum as gas buyers from Asia increasingly want a secure source of U.S. natural gas.Still, House lawmakers, even those supporting the project, said at the hearing that many Alaskans remain skeptical of the project’s chances.by Dunleavy last week that would eliminate state and local property taxes for the project but create a smaller alternative tax based on gas-flow volumes.The governor says the state gets nothing with no project. That includes missing out on $26 billion over 30 years in production taxes, royalties and other state and local revenues, plus thousands of jobs and new economic opportunities. Glenfarne, a private company from New York, has not made a final decision to green-light Alaska LNG, despite initially saying that moment could come in December. The company has also declined to release updated cost estimates for a project that’s long been pegged at $44 billion despite years of inflation. Speaking to the House committee on Wednesday, Begich said he now gives Alaska LNG more than an 80% chance of success, up from 25% for past concepts.Begich in the interview said he’s long supported the project because it’s important for Alaska, allowing him to set aside larger political differences with the governor. “It surprises people, trust me,” he said. “A lot of people are just like, ‘Seriously, you are doing what now?’ ”“If the issue is personalities, then that’s what’s wrong with our political system,” he said. Begich in the hearing Monday said “this is a moment in time” for a project that has important attributes. The Trump administration and former Biden administration have both supported it, and it has state and federal regulatory approval, among other areas of progress, he said.“We understand the desire by the committees to have more information available and that’s why we’re here today and we’ll be here more than once,” he said. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, vice chair of the Senate Resources Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that the bill from the committee is necessary. Part of the reason for the bill is “just trying to get at what the numbers are,” such as the project’s expected rate of return, he said. Those figures are needed so lawmakers have a basis to help decide what potential state support the project should receive, he said. “We’re operating in the blind at this point,” he said. “Do they need a tax cut? We just need the numbers.”In the hearing, lawmakers said they’re hearing doubts from Alaskans about whether the project will be built.But she expressed frustration over the company’s inability to stick with a date for a final investment decision, she said. “When we talk about skepticism, you know what’s not helping is that the FID keeps getting pushed back,” she said. Adam Prestidge, president of Glenfarne Alaska LNG, speaking at the hearing, did not provide a date for a final decision. But he said Glenfarne in one year has brought the project to its farthest point yet, and is working with several major companies.Baker Hughes, the oil field services company, which plans to provide refrigerant compressors and power generation equipment for the project for the project. Baker Hughes also said it would make a “strategic investment” in Alaska LNG, but provided no details about how. “No matter how skeptical you might be, you can’t discount that some of the biggest and most capable companies in the world are putting their names and their dollars on the line because they also believe in this project,” Prestidge said.Prestidge said a final investment decision is a challenging date to forecast for a complex project. Potential major gas buyers in Taiwan, Japan and other countries have signed preliminary agreements with the project, but not final agreements. “A lot of things are a little bit outside of our control because you’re negotiating with literally dozens of different counterparties at the same time, trying to land them all in a way that is timely and also economically successful for everyone involved,” he said.“Anytime you’re hearing about a vision or a concept for nearly 50 years without it being brought to fruition that will lead to a level of skepticism,” he said.the shipment of much of the world’s LNG through the Strait of Hormuz, has made potential gas buyers more eager to sign binding gas contracts, he said. “The direct impacts of the events in Iran have been a real acceleration and intensification of our LNG sales discussions and so all the counterparties that signed preliminary agreements on that list are all very anxious to advance,” he said.Alex DeMarban is a longtime Alaska journalist who covers business, the oil and gas industries and general assignments. Reach him at 907-257-4317 or alex@adn.com.Letter: Meet me at the Memory Cafe
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