A Texas energy company that uses specialized vessels to deliver natural gas said this week it is in talks with utilities in southcentral Alaska to plan to import liquefied natural gas into Cook Inlet.

Excelerate Energy said the company is working on a plan to source and deliver natural gas to southcentral Alaska to counter dwindling gas reserves in the Cook Inlet, company executives said in a conference call with financial analysts.

Cook Inlet has been producing the gas needed to heat and power the region for more than five decades, it said.

But Hilcorp, the basin’s largest gas producer, has warned utilities in south-central Alaska that it does not currently have enough gas to meet future gas contracts when existing ones expire.

The warning has raised fears that gas supplies in Cook Inlet could run out as early as next year, forcing utilities to look for possible solutions, including costly imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Excelerate CEO Steven Kobos said on the call that the company’s plans include using a special floating vessel called a “floating storage regasification unit.” After transporting the liquefied natural gas across the ocean, the units convert the LNG into gas that can be transported in pipelines.

Excelerate, based in The Woodlands, Texas, operates one of the world’s largest fleets of these specialty vessels.

“Excelerate is in advanced discussions with local utilities in Southcentral Alaska to develop an integrated LNG terminal in the lower Cook Inlet region,” Kobos said.

Excelerate will procure the gas and sell it to utilities, Kobos said.

“Excelerate would own the FSRU-based terminal, procure the required LNG supply and sell gas to local utilities and other offtakers,” he said in the call. “Commercial operations are scheduled to begin in 2028.”

Excelerate officials did not disclose the names of the Alaskan utilities they are working with during the conference call.

Enstar, the natural gas supplier in southern Alaska, has given state regulators a rough idea of ​​how it envisions gas imports.

Enstar is taking steps to build a $57 million, 16-mile pipeline to accommodate future gas imports. The pipeline would accommodate gas imports in the upper Cook Inlet at Port MacKenzie.

Enstar has notified the Alaska Regulatory Commission that it plans to use a floating storage regasification unit for gas imports.

On Thursday, representatives of major utility companies in Southcentral declined to comment on whether they were working with Excelerate.

Enstar is “fully focused” on finding new gas sources, Lindsay Hobson, an Enstar spokeswoman, said in a text message.

“As part of this process, ENSTAR continues to engage in discussions with local producers and LNG import service companies,” she said. “If and when commercial discussions are completed, ENSTAR will submit agreements to the Alaska Regulatory Commission for approval and make this information available to Alaskans.”

The Chugach Electric Association in Anchorage continues to support local gas development, Trish Baker, the utility’s senior manager of government and business affairs, said in an email.

“However, to meet projected future natural gas demand beyond 2028, we need a bridge fuel to support our transition to a renewable future,” she said. “Imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) has the potential to be that bridge.”

The Matanuska Electric Association in Palmer “continues to work with the other utilities in Southcentral to resolve the uncertainty surrounding gas supply,” Julie Estey, a spokeswoman for the utility, said in an email.

This “includes commercial discussions with organizations that are able and interested in providing viable solutions to our members’ needs,” she said. “We are committed to keeping our electric cooperative members and communities updated and will provide further details as they become available.”

Larry Persily, an oil and gas analyst and former Alaska deputy treasurer, said the Excelerate option could “make sense” for Alaska’s utilities.

Excelerate will operate the terminal and reduce the utilities’ capital investment requirements, Persily said. Excelerate will also secure the gas and provide it to the utilities, likely under a long-term lease.

“It’s like some people leasing a car instead of buying it,” he said.

Excelerate had stated that it was reviewing a possible project in the lower Cook Inlet region, but did not name a specific location.

Excelerate may consider using existing port facilities at Nikiski in the middle of Cook Inlet, but a small gas pipeline would have to be built there, Persily said.

• • •