U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-AK) and Representative Mary Peltola (D-AK) Friday welcomed a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals upholding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project. The court’s decision both dismissed and rejected claims from Lower 48 environmental groups while reaffirming FERC’s authorization of the major project to connect Alaska’s North Slope resources to an LNG export terminal in Nikiski, Alaska. 

“Alaska has over 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas readily available for production and export, which would bring incredible economic and geopolitical benefits to Alaska, America, and our allies. This project will create jobs, generate revenues, strengthen our energy security, benefit our national security, and help decrease global emissions, all at the same time,” said Senator Murkowski. “We have proven time and time again that our resources are developed under most stringent environmental standards in the world. This ruling is the latest testament to the thorough vetting and review process undertaken by FERC and reaffirms that the project should be allowed to move forward without delay.”

“Tuesday’s ruling is more good news for the only fully-permitted West Coast  LNG project in the United States,” Senator Sullivan said. “This project is also backed by the full faith and credit of the United States due to billions of dollars in federal loan guarantees Senator Murkowski and I put in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Over the last several months, my team and I have worked relentlessly in meeting with key stakeholders—investors, producers, engineering firms, the Biden administration, and Japanese and Korean government officials—to help advance this important project further. As the G-7 prepares to meet and discuss ways to get America’s Asian and European allies off of Russian gas once and for all, this decisive ruling reaffirms that Alaska LNG deserves serious consideration, especially considering FERC’s analysis confirms Alaska’s natural gas is some of the cleanest in the world.”

“Alaska’s natural gas resources could provide a reliable source of domestic, lower-carbon energy for local and international use while also creating jobs and economic activity across the state. As such, I continue to believe that the Alaska LNG project should be closely studied and considered on its merits,” said Representative Peltola. “This ruling reaffirms the export potential of the project and is a valuable step forward in assessing its overall feasibility. My office will continue to follow this project and its ongoing community engagement process closely.”

In an opinion for the court, Judge Neomi Rao wrote that, “FERC’s decision to authorize the Alaska Liquid Natural Gas Project was lawful and reasonable. We dismiss the petition in part and deny it in part…In approving the Alaska Liquid Natural Gas Project, the Commission complied with the [Natural Gas Act], NEPA, and the [Administrative Procedure Act]. CBD fails to provide any reason for this court to disturb the Commission’s reasonable determinations. To the extent the issues raised in the petition for review were not exhausted, we dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction. We otherwise deny the petition on the merits.”

The Alaska LNG project is projected to create up to 10,000 construction and 1,000 operations jobs. It will be capable of providing more than three billion cubic feet of low-cost, low-emission fuel to Alaskans and allied nations around the world each day.

  approval, court, ferc, gas, lng, murkowski, nikiski, North slope, peltola, sullivan