Baker Hughes, a major oil field service company, announces ‘strategic alliance’ to advance Alaska LNG project

Baker Hughes said Monday that it has formed a “strategic alliance” to advance the $44 billion Alaska LNG project.
The oilfield services company, one of the largest in the world, plans to provide refrigerant compressors used in the process of liquefying gas, as well as power generation equipment for the North Slope gas treatment plant, the company said in a statement.
Baker Hughes is working with Glenfarne, a private company that became the project’s lead developer in March, after taking over that role from the Alaska Gasline Development Corp.
Baker Hughes is also committing to a “strategic investment” in the project, according to the statement.
The statement provided no details about what that investment might entail.
Skeptics of Alaska LNG cautioned that the project still has much bigger hurdles to clear, since it’s unclear who will cough up the billions for the project or buy the gas, though entities in Asia are studying the project.
Alaska LNG, if it’s ever built, would tap into giant natural gas reserves on the state’s North Slope. The gas would be shipped down an 800-mile pipeline, then super-chilled in Nikiski to make liquefied natural gas. The LNG would then be loaded onto tankers for oceangoing transport.
State leaders for more than half a century have pursued several similar projects to get that Alaska gas to market, but high costs, uncertain gas prices and other factors have derailed plans.
Nonetheless, Alaska LNG has enjoyed new momentum as a darling of President Donald Trump’s pro-energy agenda. Trump has called on Asian countries to invest in the project or buy its gas to reduce U.S. trade imbalances.
Interior and Energy secretaries Doug Burgum and Chris Wright, who vowed full support for the project during a trip to Alaska this summer, celebrated the involvement of Baker Hughes.
They appeared at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., announcing the agreements, which included U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The secretaries said the project could help improve U.S. energy security and global competitiveness, the statement said.
Brendan Duval, chief executive of Glenfarne, called Baker Hughes a “welcome partner” for Alaska LNG because of its leading role in LNG compression technology.
Baker Hughes, based in Houston and London, operates globally, employing more than 50,000 workers. It reported about $28 billion in revenue last year.
“Their participation reflects Alaska LNG’s momentum and its ability to attract global partners to achieve national and state energy objectives,” Duval said in the statement.
Larry Persily, a former federal coordinator for an earlier iteration of the Alaska pipeline project under former President Barack Obama, said that signing up Baker Hughes could provide some assurance to potential gas buyers, thanks to its experience with LNG projects.
“It’s an indication they’re continuing to work at it and they obviously hope they can find customers, investors and financing,” he said. “But it doesn’t change the economics of the project.”
Much more challenging than bringing on Baker Hughes will be securing commitments from Asian companies to buy the gas, he said.
Big gas consumers in Asia, such as Tokyo Gas in Japan or Posco International Corp. in South Korea, have signed preliminary gas-offtake agreements with Alaska LNG.
But those are not commitments to actually buy the gas, Persily said.
“They’re probably sincere at looking at it, but they’re not signing any final deals,” he said.
The Chosun Daily, the English version of the largest newspaper in South Korea, recently reported that Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan raised questions about the project’s commercial viability and said it was unlikely to qualify as a target for a U.S.-bound investment fund.
Tim Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson with Glenfarne, said in a text message Monday that the international trade talks with Washington, D.C., are on a separate track from Glenfarne’s direct discussions with Asian entities.
Persily said the real cost of Alaska LNG remains unknown.
“Meanwhile, construction and commitments continue on the U.S. Gulf Coast,” he said. “And the world only needs so much LNG.”
Brad Keithley, a former oil and gas attorney and longtime industry observer, said “it doesn’t hurt” to sign on Baker Hughes.
“But it all depends on getting definitive, signed, unconditional contracts with customers,” he said.
“They don’t have that,” he said.
Worley, a global engineering company, is expected to complete final engineering and cost analysis for the pipeline in December, the statement said.
That will set the stage for a final go or no-go investment decision on the first of two phases, the statement from Baker Hughes and Glenfarne said.
That first phase, estimated at $11 billion, would extend the gas line to deliver natural gas to meet Alaska needs, such as a looming shortage of locally produced gas in the Anchorage region, according to plans.
The second phase calls for construction of the LNG terminal and other hardware needed to export the gas overseas. A final investment decision for that phase is expected in late 2026, the statement said.