The board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation met in a special meeting on Thursday and voted to allow the corporation's President Frank Richards to sign a major project development agreement with Glenfarne, the company that had earlier signed an earlier letter of intent to build the Alaska Gasline.

AGDC and Glenfarne, with its subsidiary 8-Star, signed definitive agreements for Glenfarne to become majority owner of Alaska LNG, which is the only federally permitted LNG export project on the US Pacific Coast.

Glenfarne will lead the development to construction and operation of the entire project.

Alaska LNG is designed to deliver North Slope natural gas to Alaskans and Alaska utilities and export up to 20 million tons of LNG per year, AGDC said.

Glenfarne will take a majority stake from the front-end engineering (FEED) and design all the way through to a final investment decision. AGDC remains a key partner to Glenfarne on the project.

AKLNG's three sub-projects are an 807-mile 42-inch pipeline, the LNG export terminal in Nikiski, and a North Slope-based carbon capture plant to remove and safely store 7 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

In light of steadily declining gas production from Cook Inlet, which has historically been Alaska's primary in-state natural gas basin, phase one of the project will kick off immediately, prioritizing the development and final investment decision of the pipeline infrastructure needed to deliver North Slope gas to Alaskans as rapidly as possible, AGDC said.

This means a lot of activity could happen within weeks with front-end engineering and design, with the final investment decision due in the fourth quarter of this year. Gas could be available for export by 2030-31.

The AKLNG project could add 12,000 construction jobs to Alaska. Jobs would include 1,566 pipe fitters and welders, 1,864 engineers, 2,311 laborers, 447 iron workers, 397 electricians, 295 carpenters, and others, particularly those who are in supply chains and logistics.

The gasline is a priority for President Donald Trump, who singled it out in his address to a joint session of Congress.

Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been on an extended trip throughout Asia to help establish customers for the export of Alaska LNG. He phoned into a press Q&A on Thursday evening to add details and context to the news of the agreement approval.

Dunleavy said he met with the leaders of Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, some of America's closest allies in Asia, who also have some of the world's leading trade surpluses with the US. He has obtained a letter of intent from Taiwan to purchase Alaska natural gas.

"Today is a historic day for Alaska. Oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay almost exactly 57 years ago and since then Alaskans have never given up on finding a way to also benefit from our North Slope natural gas," Dunleavy said in a statement. "Alaska has made a significant investment to develop Alaska LNG to the point where we can engage Glenfarne, a well-qualified industry leader, to bring this great project to the finish line. Alaska LNG will strengthen the U.S. geostrategic position in the North Pacific, provide vital energy security for our residents, our military bases, our businesses, and our Asian allies, and unlock billions in economic benefit at home and abroad."

The next step involves Richards finalizing legally binding development agreements. He said the most accelerated part of the project will be to get the natural gas to Alaskans first.

"I'm incredibly proud of the ADGC team that has worked tirelessly over the past eleven years to develop Alaska LNG. Through persistence, hard work, and the determination that characterizes the Alaska spirit, Alaska LNG has successfully advanced through the design and permitting gauntlet to ignite global market momentum and attract a world-class developer, Richards said. "Alaska LNG will ensure a brighter future for generations of Alaskans and I look forward to working with Glenfarne as they lead Alaska LNG forward."

The Legislature will still have to approve the final investment decision from the state's side.

Glenfarne Chief Executive Officer and Founder Brendan Duval said, "Glenfarne's financial, project management, and commercial expertise is well matched to lead this vital project forward. Alaska LNG will provide desperately needed energy security and natural gas cost savings for Alaskans and give Glenfarne unmatched flexibility to simultaneously serve LNG markets in both Asia and Europe through our three LNG projects. Glenfarne strongly believes in the benefit of partnering with the communities where we work, and we are already building our Alaska team to bring Alaska LNG to life."

This fast timeline is due t.

Currently, AGDC is updating engineering and design work, aided by a $50 million line of credit approved in late 2024 by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.

AKLNG is advancing and this is an important step, but until dirt is turned, Alaskans will not be blamed for taking a wait-and-see approach to the stage-gated process.