After five years, the Kenai liquified natural gas plant in Nikiski is being brought back online as a limited-use import facility. Marathon Petroleum subsidiary Trans-Foreland Pipeline applied for the re-opening of the long-dormant facility back in March of last year.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the proposal, despite one dissenting vote from Commissioner Richard Glick. He cited concerns that there are potential impacts on climate change that were not considered in this project.
The liquification portion of the plant will not return to an active status. Rather, the plant will be focus on importing LNG, filling existing storage tanks, while also enabling the transfer of gas to a nearby refinery owned by another Marathon affiliate. Back in 2019, Marathon publicly said that they aim to use the plant to “optimize its refinery operations.”
The Federal Energy Regularly Commission approved the plan, known as “Kenai LNG Cool Down Project,” last week. The plan is to have the plant ready for LNG imports in two years.
The Kenai plant has a storied history since the start of its LNG exports in 1969, once being the sole LNG exporter in the U.S. In 2015, then-owner ConocoPhilips put the facility in a state of warm-storage, meaning that LNG previously kept in a cold liquid state has been allowed to warm up.
Marathon became the owner in 2018 and their aim is now to use the facility to supply upwards of 7,000 million British Thermal Units to their nearby Kenai refinery for fuel.