Alaska LNG Developer Says 65 Percent Shipping Cost Advantage Over Gulf Coast Justifies $44.5-54.5 Billion Project Investment

Alaska LNG's developer said on October 4, 2026, that the project's access to stranded natural gas and shorter shipping routes to Asia will make it competitive with U.S. Gulf Coast rivals despite massive infrastructure costs, according to Reuters. The cost of shipping gas to Asia from Alaska's North Slope would be at least 65 percent cheaper than shipping LNG from the Gulf Coast, Tim Fitzpatrick, communications director for project developer Glenfarne, said in an email to Reuters. The proposed project would move gas from Alaska's North Slope through an 800-mile pipeline to a liquefied natural gas export plant in southern Alaska.

Critics have pointed to the project's estimated cost of $44.5 billion to $54.5 billion, which translates to roughly $2.2 billion to $2.7 billion per million tons per annum of LNG capacity, appearing significantly higher than many recently approved Gulf Coast developments, according to Reuters. Developer Glenfarne argues the comparison is misleading because it includes the expense of pipeline and gas treatment infrastructure needed to bring stranded North Slope gas to market, with the Alaska LNG project entailing about $1.4 billion per MTPA in delivery costs, Fitzpatrick told Reuters. On October 1, President Donald Trump unveiled up to $200 billion of South Korean investment in U.S. projects, including $54 billion for the 20 mtpa Alaska LNG project, according to LNG Global.

The project's viability hinges on whether the 65 percent shipping cost advantage to Asian markets is sufficient to offset the higher upfront infrastructure costs compared to Gulf Coast projects. Uncertainty remains over whether buyers will commit to long-term contracts at prices that reflect both the infrastructure premium and the shipping discount.

Sources

Reuters (via Investing.com), "Alaska LNG shipping savings justifies billions in investment, developer says," October 4, 2026, investing.com LNG Global, "What You Need to Know Sept 30 - Oct 1 2026," October 1, 2026, lngglobal.com Reuters (via Boe Report), "Alaska LNG shipping savings justifies billions in investment, developer says," October 4, 2026, boereport.com