U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska, today released the following joint statement after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a Notice of Schedule for the environmental review process for the Alaska LNG (AK LNG) project.

“This schedule is a necessary step forward for the AK LNG project and provides a clear trajectory for Alaskans’ efforts to commercialize our massive reserves of natural gas. FERC’s schedule for this project—the largest energy infrastructure project in America— outlines a completion track by 2024 or 2025, so that it can bring affordable energy to Alaskans and help meet growing global demand for this clean-burning fuel.”

In its notice, FERC announced that it plans to issue a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project in March 2019 and a final EIS in December 2019. Based on that, the 90-day federal authorization decision deadline is now set for March 2020.

The AK LNG Project is a $45 billion integrated pipeline project that includes a treatment facility on the North Slope of Alaska, an 800-mile long pipeline, five off-take points for natural gas for in-state residential and commercial use, and a liquefaction facility at tidewater. It is the nation’s largest energy infrastructure project in planning and permitting.