U.S. President Donald Trump talked up the proposed $44 billion Alaska LNG project in his address to Congress last week. The project is expected to deliver about 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, much of it for international markets, from the state's North Slope gas fields.

The project needs an 800-mile pipeline to bring gas from Alaska's north to send it to customers in Asia and no final investment decisions have yet been made.

Alaska is talking to potential buyers in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Thailand, Dunleavy told an energy conference in Houston.

"We're looking at an expedited process to build a pipe," he said, adding that he expects the pipeline to be built in about two-and-a-half years.

"We have all the permits, feedback from all the court cases, we have the support of the president of the United States, we have Asian allies that need gas," Dunleavy said when asked about his optimistic timeline.

The project, which was approved during Trump's first term as president, received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorization in 2020 and final legal approval in 2022, despite opposition from environmental groups.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said all options for supporting the project are on the table, including a potential loan guarantee from his department's Loan Programs Office.