The American company ConocoPhillips announced it is evaluating the bids regarding the sale of its Kenai LNG production plant and export terminal in Alaska (United States). The facility was put for sale in November 2016 and the bid deadline was 17 March 2017.
The facility only operated for 6 months in 2015 and produced 565 mcm of LNG during the year, much below its nameplate capacity of 2 bcm/year (1.5 Mt/year). Only six LNG cargoes were delivered and the company did not conduct any export program in 2016.
The liquefaction plant was commissioned in 1969 and was the only LNG plant in North America until the start up of the 4.5 Mt/year Sabine Pass LNG project in 2016. Regular shipments were made to Tokyo Gas and Tokyo Electric in particular but Kenai's export license expired in March 2013, stopping the plant's operations. In April 2014, a new export license was granted, allowing the plant to export 40 bcf (1.1 bcm) of LNG over a two-year period, and relaunching operations. The licence was renewed in February 2016 for 40 bcf (1.1 bcm) over the February 2016-February 2018 period. However, ConocoPhillips has not exported any gas so far in 2016 due to low gas prices.
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