Alaska scraps plan to partner with China on major natural gas project over fears of ‘risks to the state’
- The plan was signed in 2017 in front of presidents Trump and Xi, and overseen by former Alaska governor Bill Walker
- But new Governor Mike Dunleavy is concerned about ‘risks’ associated with working with three Chinese companies
A plan for Alaska and partners in China to advance a major liquefied natural gas project has been scrapped due to safety concerns from the state’s new administration.
The plan, which was formed under independent ex-governor Bill Walker, has been dropped by his successor, Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce.
Joe Dubler, interim president of the Alaska Gasline Development, said the corporation, which has been working on the state’s behalf, did not renew a non-binding agreement it had with three Chinese firms to buy up to 75 per cent of the project’s liquefied natural gas in exchange for an equal share of the needed financing.
Dubler, who made the remarks in recent testimony before a state legislative committee, said the project was shut down because the Dunleavy administration isn’t comfortable with the risks that the state would have to take on to complete the project.
It isn’t clear what risks the administration believed the project presented.
The agreement was signed with fanfare in 2017, in front of both US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.