Alaska proposes stronger land rights for LNG pipeline, with construction approval still ahead

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Nov. 12, 2026 — Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources is proposing to give the Alaska LNG project firmer legal rights to use state land along its pipeline route to help attract investment and advance the project toward construction.

The proposal would replace two conditional right-of-way leases with standard leases. In everyday terms, the project would move from an arrangement that leaves its land rights unsettled to an actual legal interest in the state land needed for the gasline.

But the change has not been finalized. DNR Commissioner John Crowther’s Oct. 23 Analysis and Proposed Decision is still subject to the public comment period, public hearings, and a final decision.

A right-of-way is permission to use a strip of land for a particular purpose, such as a pipeline.

The proposal covers the roughly 63-mile Point Thomson transmission line on the North Slope and the roughly 807-mile mainline route from Prudhoe Bay to Nikiski. The leases govern the project’s use of state-owned land along those routes.

The mainline would carry North Slope natural gas south, with gas intended for Alaska customers and a proposed liquefaction facility near Nikiski, where gas would be prepared for export.

AGDC applied for the rights-of-way in 2019. DNR approved conditional leases in 2021, which gave the project time to qualify.  Alaska law allows the state to issue other conditional or standard leases for the same right-of-way, and a conditional leaseholder gains no preference or priority rights merely by holding that lease.

Converting the leases would give AGDC a more secure legal footing on state land while leaving further requirements to be met before construction.

The conversion request was submitted Oct. 2 by Adam Prestidge, president of 8 Star Alaska LLC, on AGDC’s behalf.

Glenfarne became the project’s lead developer in 2025 through an arrangement giving it majority ownership and management of 8 Star. AGDC retains a minority project stake.

To approve conversion, Crowther must find AGDC “fit, willing, and able” to meet its responsibilities and determine that the change serves the state’s best interest.

His preliminary reasoning focuses on AGDC’s role as a public development corporation that assembles partners, expertise, and financing. Under that approach, AGDC does not have to employ the welders, operate the equipment, or finance the entire project itself to qualify.

Crowther points to engineering, permitting, commercial work, and the Glenfarne partnership as evidence that AGDC can coordinate the resources needed to advance the project.

DNR’s stated aim is to give investors, gas producers, utilities, and potential LNG customers greater confidence in the project’s access to state land. That certainty could help it reach a final investment decision — the point when investors formally commit to moving ahead.

Technical and financial obligations under the leases must still be met before DNR authorizes on-the-ground pipeline or facility construction. Any assignment or transfer would continue to require the commissioner’s specific written approval. And everything could change under the incoming administration of (most likely) Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.

Alaskans can weigh in before a final decision:

• Virtual hearing: Nov. 23, 6–8 pm
• In-person hearing: Nov. 24, 11 am–1 pm, Alaska Housing Finance Corp. headquarters, 4300 Boniface Parkway, Anchorage.
• Written comments: Due before 5 pm, Nov. 25.

Comments may be emailed to spc.records@alaska.gov or mailed to DNR’s State Pipeline Coordinator’s Section, 550 West Seventh Ave., Suite 1100, Anchorage, AK 99501.

The proposed decision and hearing information are available through the DNR Division of Oil and Gas newsroom.