Q&A with Keith Meyer, president, Alaska gasline development corporation.

• Position: Oil & Gas - Interview

Alaska Business Monthly: Many Alaskans are excited for construction on the Alaska LNG project to get started, to put thousands of people to work, to boost the economy. What is being done to make that happen?

Keith Meyer: The Alaska LNG project is important for the state of Alaska and will provide significant job opportunities for trades and craftsmen. The project is expected to create approximately 10,000 jobs for design and construction, plus 1,000 jobs for long-term operations. Studies have shown that each direct job will create a ripple effect in the economy that generates 20 indirect jobs.

The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) is actively directing the project and is taking positive steps forward. In 2016, AGDC took the reins of the Alaska LNG project and the technical and regulatory handover is now complete. AGDC staff is actively engaged with Asian commercial interests and recently hosted an Alaska LNG Summit that brought together twenty-three representatives from fourteen companies for the purpose of learning more about the Alaska LNG project. In addition to site visits to Prudhoe Bay and Nikiski, the Alaska LNG Summit included a full day of presentations from Alaska's major producers, government representatives, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, and labor representatives. One-on-one meetings were also conducted, allowing company representatives to ask specific questions and gain further clarity on various aspects of the project. AGDC continues to work with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the Section 3 application and anticipates the filing will take place this spring. Collaborative agreements have been finalized with BP and ConocoPhillips, and AGDC has initiated discussions with instate utilities and potential customers.

ABM: How many people are working to address FERC's 420 pages of questions and move forward with the rest of the application process?

Meyer: The AGDC project management team is working with more than seventyfive individuals from engineering and environmental firms that were also involved in the development of the Draft 2 Resource Reports. The team is addressing nearly 3,000 comments received from state and federal regulatory agencies and is using all available data and previous regulatory work products to address the questions. AGDC is also working with state agencies to coordinate their questions and help streamline the response to FERC.

ABM: What are some of the companies involved?

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