Tokyo Gas has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with US developer Glenfarne for 1mn tonnes of LNG from the Alaska LNG project, the two companies announced on October 24.

The agreement paves the way for Tokyo Gas to progress to meaningful talks concerning the purchase of super-chilled fuel from the megaproject, which will boast a nameplate capacity of 20mn tonnes per year (tpy).

The long-delayed $44bn project has been gaining momentum in recent months as a handful of buyers in Asia have indicated they are interested in purchasing super-cooled gas from the facility.

A total of 11mn tpy has already been sold to buyers in preliminary agreements including with Japan’s JERA, South Korea’s POSCO, Taiwan’s CPC, and Thailand’s PTT. Glenfarne is targeting sales of 16mn tpy for it to take a positive final investment decision (FID) on the plant.

And while Alaska LNG is still seeking preliminary deals for the remaining 5mn tpy, no fewer than 50 companies have expressed some interest in buying LNG from the plant.

Glenfarne is aiming to take FID before the end of the year or in 2026. Glenfarne took over as lead developer in March after assuming a 75% stake.

President Trump and Alaskan officials have been aggressively campaigning for the project and have toured Asia. Additionally, the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference was also held in June, in a further attempt to woo potential customers.

Nevertheless, some Asian buyers remain concerned that price competitiveness of the project could be limited by the high development costs.

In addition to the processing plant, the project will require an 800-mile (1,287-kilometre) pipeline. If the project takes a positive FID, LNG cargoes could begin being sent to buyers in 2030 or 2031.