ANCHORAGE Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell met yesterday in Anchorage with the chief executive officers from BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil to discuss alignment between the three companies on commercializing the North Slope’s vast natural gas reserves.

The meeting took place at the request of Governor Parnell after he publicly called on the three companies – the major lease holders for gas reserves on the North Slope – to work together on developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that focuses on exporting Alaska North Slope gas to Asia’s growing markets.

The governor invited the three CEOs to meet with him to discuss the opportunities for commercializing North Slope gas and the project’s importance to Alaskans.

“We had a productive discussion about how to get alignment between the companies and grow Alaska’s economy through oil and gas development,” Governor Parnell said. “I made it clear that we want to see progress on commercializing Alaska’s gas for Alaskans and markets beyond.”

The Parnell administration is targeting LNG exports to Asia given increasing demand there.

Governor Parnell and the CEOs – Bob Dudley of BP, Jim Mulva of ConocoPhillips and Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobil – met for two hours. During the meeting, the CEOs briefed the governor on the extensive work they’ve been doing in response to his request.

“I appreciate the willingness of the chief executives to come to Alaska to discuss the important topic of commercializing North Slope gas,” Governor Parnell said. “For a gas project to advance, all three companies need to be aligned behind it. This meeting is an important step, but much work remains.”

Source: Office of Governor Parnell