What was for many years North America’s only liquefied natural gas (LNG) export operation— mothballed since early 2013— may start up again in the near future.

The Alaska unit of ConocoPhillips has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Energy to resume export of LNG from the plant outside Nikiski, Alaska, on the Kenai Peninsula. Opened in 1969 in a joint venture with Marathon, the plant exported LNG to Japan for more than 40 years. ConocoPhillips later bought out Marathon’s interest in the project. Production in 2012 averaged 30 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day.

Dwindling reserves from Cook Inlet fields, coupled with strong demand by Anchorage and Kenai local distribution companies, led to the plant’s closure. However, renewed drilling along the inlet has created new proved reserves. The state of Alaska asked ConocoPhillips to re-open the plant in the fall of 2013 to enhance economic development opportunities in the area and encourage new drilling.

The new application seeks to export as much as 40 billion cubic feet of gas during a two-year period on a seasonal basis, working around local gas demand during cold weather months.

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