Alaska LNG: Subsidy Sinkhole or Smart Play?

0:00It's April 21st. From your city to your ears, this is Anchorage News today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Sponsors behind the massive Alaska LNG export project are pushing for huge public subsidies to keep it alive. This 8007 mile gas pipeline from the North slope to Cook Inlet, plus processing plants, is led by Glen Farn Group with a 75. Percent stake in state linked 8 star Alaska, holding 25%. Costs were pegged at $44 billion a decade ago, but the state now says $46 billion, and insiders think it'll run way higher. The project has dragged on for decades with no success, despite hype from former President Trump calling it a big win. The state handed over key assets like permits and data to Glen Farn for a final investment decision by late last year, but that's months late with no. Word. Even global oil shocks haven't made a pencil out without taxpayer help. Alaskans and lawmakers are split, with real worries about the hit-to-state coffers.

1:04Governor Mike Dunlevy's bill offers deep tax breaks, slashing property taxes by about 90% at full tilt, and costing billions in lost. Revenue for the state in towns. Economists say developers won't budge without it, but critics call it a raw deal after years of sunk public cash, nearing a billion dollars. Meanwhile, non-binding letters of intent from buyers like total energies for 2 million tons a year over 20 years hinge on that investment call, with zero firm contracts in hand. Construction talk for this year feels like hot air, maybe just for show. The Senate's pushing a bill to tweak rules, add export surcharges, and limit state spending. Four decades of chasing this North Slope gas stream have burned through fortunes with nothing to show time for Alaska leaders to ditch the subsidy. Sincol and move on to smarter plays.