JUNEAU, Alaska, June 24 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said he was concerned about the investments targeting natural gas development projects in his state.
Parnell said he was pleased with initial progress made on a large volume liquefied natural gas project planned by BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and TransCanada.
In his State of the State address in January, Parnell called on the companies to finalize LNG details by February, ensure some work started this summer and plan agreements for pre-front-end engineering and design work for the project.
He said the first two criteria were met, though the third benchmark has not yet been achieved.
The companies involved in the project said in a statement last week they expect to spend at least $80 million on the LNG project by the end of the year. Parnell said, however, he was concerned because spending commitments did not extend into 2014.
"The announcement simply does not reflect that the companies have budgeted or allocated hundreds of millions of dollars related to pre-FEED, which is what they have previously indicated is required for this phase of the project," he said last week. "In short, the companies are making progress, but not moving as quickly as Alaskans expect."
