LNG given prime spot in Trump’s new directive to unleash Alaska’s resource potential

The newly-elected U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an executive order instructing the federal government to maximize the development and production of natural resources in Alaska, including the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, due to their “critical national importance” and “economic and national security benefits.”

The executive order, ‘Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,’ states, among other things, that the policy of the United States is to “prioritize the development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential, including the sale and transportation of Alaskan LNG to other regions of the United States and allied nations within the Pacific region.” The order was issued on January 20, 2025, the day Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States.

The Alaska LNG project, which is being developed by the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), was authorized by President Trump’s administration in 2020, and reauthorized by President Biden’s administration in 2022. According to the developer, it is the only federally permitted LNG export facility on the U.S. West Coast offering direct, canal-free shipping via uncontested waters to Asian markets.

“It is morning again in Alaska. With the stroke of a pen, President Trump has sent America and the world the unmistakable message that unleashing Alaska’s energy and resources will be a top priority of his administration, literally from day 1. The contrast with the Biden administration couldn’t be more stark. For four years, our state suffered under an unrelenting assault—70 executive orders and actions restricting Alaskans’ economic opportunities and lawful access to our lands,” said United States Senator for Alaska, Dan Sullivan.

“No state has endured this kind of sustained negative attention from a federal administration in recent memory. President Trump’s sweeping executive order, and the work we will do with his administration over the next four years, will put Alaskans back in the driver’s seat of our state’s destiny, advancing critical resource development projects and unleashing economic opportunities for the benefit of our hard-working families and the security of the entire nation.”

The new executive order directs the heads of all executive departments and agencies to take all necessary steps to “prioritize the development of Alaska’s LNG potential, including the permitting of all necessary pipeline and export infrastructure related to the Alaska LNG Project.”

In addition to supporting the progress of Alaska LNG, the order removes resource restrictions within the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPR-A) and restores canceled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Alaska and its LNG project became one of the bones of contention between the outgoing and incoming administrations, with outgoing President Biden disclosing plans to protect areas of the United States, including portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, from future oil and natural gas leasing. President-elect Donald Trump responded by vowing to undo the drilling ban.

AGDC President Frank Richards, said: “Alaska LNG is broadly supported at federal, state, and local levels because of this project’s significant strategic, economic and environmental benefits. Alaska LNG will annually strengthen the U.S. balance of trade by approximately $10 billion, create thousands of jobs, and eliminate up to 2.3 billion tons of carbon emissions over the project’s 30-year authorization.”

The executive order comes on the heels of the announcement that Glenfarne came on board the project as a private investor, which was disclosed in early January. This allowed the project to move forward after a decade of design and permitting work.

The project is expected to deliver an average of about 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day sourced from Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson fields. These fields will produce, on average, about 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day with approximately 75% coming from the former and 25% from the latter.

The liquefaction facility, located in Nikiski, southwest of Anchorage, will process, store, and transport up to 20 million tons of LNG per year. The facility is set to include three LNG trains, two 240,000 cubic meter storage tanks, terminal facilities, and marine services, as well as two loading berths to accommodate LNG carriers up to 217,000 cubic meters (Q-Flex). An 807-mile, 42-inch diameter pipeline will help carry natural gas from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska.

The project has faced opposition from environmental groups, most notably Greenpeace and Center for Biological Diversity.  When AGDC received authorization to build and operate the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in April 2023, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club (CBD) petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for review.

A month later, the court dismissed the petition by saying that some issues the petitioners raised were not exhausted and it lacks jurisdiction to consider them. Four months later, the environmental duo sued the federal government for approving exports from the Alaska LNG Project, claiming that it failed to fully assess the project’s environmental harms. 

In reaction to the latest order, Earthjustice said it would continue to work with clients and partners to protect Alaska’s public lands and hasten the clean energy transition, noting that the bulk of the actions cannot be made unilaterally by the President without cooperation from government agencies, Congress, or other authorities.

“Alaska is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, a trend that is wreaking havoc on communities, ecosystems, fish, wildlife, and ways of life that depend on healthy lands and waters. That reality requires us to create economic opportunities that respect the lands and people of Alaska and benefit all,” said Carole Holley, Earthjustice’s managing attorney for the Alaska Office.

“The Trump administration’s agenda for Alaska would destroy valuable habitats and subsistence hunting and fishing grounds while furthering the climate crisis. Earthjustice and its clients will not stand idly by while Trump once again forces a harmful industry-driven agenda on our state for political gain and the benefit of a wealthy few.”