Dunleavy rushes to give valuable state assets to Glenfarne without review
I’ve mentioned here before that Anchorage Sen. Cathy Giessel’s regular newsletter is invaluable in explaining to Alaskans some of what is going on within state government.
Her latest edition deals with a move by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to hand over valuable state rights-of-way to Glenfarne without proper review or public discussion. One of the leases is from Point Thompson to Prudhoe Bay. The other covers 807 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Nikiski.
Dunleavy will be gone is less than a month and he is trying to subvert the public process with a hurried decision. Dunleavy’s departure is no reason to rush this.
“The ROW Conversion goes to 8-Star, which means Glenfarne will control it. It's highly unlikely they would surrender it for free,” Giessel writes.
We don’t know how many decisions Dunleavy is making in the final days of his administration without public review.
This is among the rush jobs that needs to be stopped.
The conditional leases deal with about 50,000 acres of state land during construction and 3,600 acres during operations.
8 Star, the company controlled by Glenfarne, applied to make “conditional” leases on pipeline rights-of-way official leases on October 2.
John Crowther, who will soon become the former commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, signed off on the Glenfarne giveaway in three weeks, which is probably a record.
He should do the right thing and admit that he had no business signing off on this.
The document he signed includes this lie: “Together, the project’s capital commitments, Glenfarne’s financing experience, revenue-securing agreements, and statutory authorities provide evidence of its financial capability to develop the Alaska LNG pipeline.”
Glenfarne does not have the financial capability or the agreements to build the Alaska LNG pipeline.
Here is the eight-page document Glenfarne submitted on October 2, claiming the “financial capability” to build the project. Read it closely as it does not demonstrate financial capability to build this project. There are links to a bunch of press releases, however.
The leases have been conditional until now because no one has proven that a plan exists to build the project. That remains the case today.
State law says that 60 days for public notice is part of the rigorous process for public review. The application was filed November 15, 2019. Public hearings took place in early 2021.
The conditional approval said “project funding must be secured” before the leases were final.
There are no property rights with a conditional lease. There are property rights with a state lease.
Here is what Giessel wrote:
Executive Summary
In a concerning departure from long-standing precedent under the Alaska Right-of-Way Leasing Act (AS 38.35), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued a proposed decision to convert conditional pipeline Right-of-Way (ROW) leases to formal leases for 8 Star Alaska, LLC—an entity controlled by private developer Glenfarne.
An exclusive ROW lease conveys a direct real property interest across state lands and legally requires DNR to determine that an applicant is fit, willing, and able (FWA) to meet its obligations. In established precedent—such as the rigorous 2014 review of BP's pipeline lease transfers to Harvest Alaska—DNR’s Division of Oil and Gas conducted exhaustive, independent evaluations of audited financials, CPA certifications, debt ratios, credit agency ratings, and incremental bonding for Dismantlement, Removal, and Restoration (DR&R).
In contrast, DNR bypassed its standard commercial review, relying instead on a confidential Department of Revenue overview, high-level corporate asset summaries, and non-binding press releases. Neither 8 Star Alaska nor Glenfarne has submitted audited financial statements demonstrating the capital required to build or dismantle an 800-mile pipeline. Furthermore, DNR has inverted the regulatory framework by converting the leases before seven fundamental conditions—including resource extraction plans, contaminated sites agreements, and fishing impact mitigations—have been cured
Granting exclusive public property rights under the premise that leases are needed simply to attract investors sets a hazardous precedent and compromises state oversight.
Before converting these leases, the State should require 8 Star Alaska to demonstrate true financial and technical fitness under the transparent, rigorous standards Alaska law demands.
Read Proposed Decision ROW Conversion HERE.
Read 2014 review of BP's pipeline lease transfers to Harvest Alaska HERE.
A summary of the concerns
Compressed Timeframes of the Conversion’s public process
On October 2, 2026, 8 Star requested the conversion.
On Oct. 5, DNR public notice of the conversion.
Public comment: November 23, 2026 from 6-8PM online.
Nov 24, 2026 from 11 AM – 1 PM, in Anchorage.
Written comment closes on Nov 25.
Commissioner Decision after public comment closes.
This is a compressed time frame for a major decision in the final weeks before a new Governor takes office. This decision will have lasting impact on the State, with little public review or input.
The 8 Star Alaska, LLC Board is unknown to Alaskans.
The Board has 3 members: Brendan Duval, CEO Glenfarne; Adam Prestige, VP Alaska Glenfarne; and Frank Richards, AGDC Exec Director.
Glenfarne has 2 votes on the Board; AGDC has 1 vote.
The ROW Conversion goes to 8-Star, which means Glenfarne will control it. It's highly unlikely they would surrender it for free.
Void of Financial Scrutiny
Department of Revenue used a confidential project economics analysis, and overview of Glenfarne’s energy infrastructure assets and referenced publicly issued press releases as indicative evidence of anticipated commercial arrangement.
This allows Glenfarne to determine its own financial fitness. The Legislature is aware that the Dept of Revenue receives all financial data from Glenfarne themselves. This has not had the rigorous, third-party review by certified fiscal analysts.
The decision creates a precedent in that we will be hard pressed to hold companies financially responsible before allowing them to build pipelines in Alaska.
Conditions are left in place, not cured, as would normally be required before conversion.
The Preliminary Decision is clear by stating “conversion does not eliminate the seven conditions”. This isn't normal. It is a complete inversion of the process. Normally you would get a conditional lease, cure the conditions, apply to convert, get a decision to convert.
Ignores Legislative Scrutiny.
This decision will bypass the careful, extensive scrutiny by the Alaska Legislature, whose members are sworn to protect and uphold the Alaska Constitution. Over 100 hours were spent with consultants as Legislators reviewed the Glenfarne/AGDC proposals and fiscals. Elected, state-wide policy makers were denied access to actual financial information during three special sessions called by the Governor.
Rushed process without appropriate review
The conversion of Conditional Right-of-Way Leases may be an appropriate decision. But examination of the details indicate that conditions have not yet been met to confirm the appropriateness of this decision. The timeline is inappropriately compressed to meet political motives rather than prudent fiscal policy decision.
In short:
This Fit Willing and Able (FWA) process is a critical leverage point for the State to ensure we are protected from incomplete projects, potential spills or disaster clean up, end of life remediation and more.
The FWA process is also based on more than a decade of detailed precedent that has required much more experienced and financially robust companies to commit to Financial Assurance agreements for smaller projects.
This is an aggressive and risky move commercially and should be analyzed appropriately before transferring an exclusive right to a private developer.
The Resources Committees of both the House and Senate will be meeting on Nov. 17 to review this DNR action.
Members of the Senate will be submitting public comment of concerns.