Harvest buys Kenai LNG to repurpose as import terminal

Harvest Alaska, an affiliate of Harvest Midstream Co., has agreed with Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Chugach Electric Assoc. to buy the existing Kenai LNG plant, currently owned by a Marathon subsidiary, and repurpose it to be a regasification terminal. Harvest plans to be able to begin supplying natural gas to southcentral Alaska via Kenai as early as 2026, with full-scale operations beginning as early as 2028.

Southcentral Alaska faces a potential gas shortage which Harvest hopes to address in the short term while longer-term solutions are sought. The company hopes that existing Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approvals will help keep timelines short.   

Kenai LNG includes a berth capable of handling 138,000-cu m LNG carriers and 107,000 cu m of on site storage (about 2.3 bcf of natural gas). Harvest will be conducting front-end engineering and design for the conversion over the next several months. 

Chugach is discussing supply terms with Harvest for natural gas the utility will use to generate electricity. It has a supply contract in place with Hilcorp Energy Co. which expires Mar. 31, 2028. 

Gas will also be supplied from the terminal to Marathon’s 68,000-b/d Kenai refinery. The terminal and refinery are on Cook Inlet, about 60 miles southwest of Anchorage. 

The sale comes as new agreements are being put in place for the continued development of the 20-million tonne/year Alaska LNG project, designed to export gas produced on the North Slope (OGJ Online, Jan. 7, 2025). Japan-based Mitsui & Co. Ltd. has said it might consider financially supporting Alaska LNG as part of easing trade relations with the administration of US Pres. Donald Trump, but no decisions or formal offers have occurred.