A crucial engineering and cost study for the proposed $44 billion Alaska LNG pipeline project is expected to wrap up by the end of the year, giving credible details about the feasibility of the project, U.S Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum said Tuesday.

The study, known as a FEED (Front-End Engineering and Design) study, is a critical step for the massive project, which centers on an 800-mile pipeline to transport natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope.

“There's a lot of optimism about the Alaska LNG project, and the FEED study should be coming out in December of this year,” Burgum said at an event hosted by the American Petroleum Institute. “I think that we're going to see a lot of interest in that project.”

The Alaska LNG project is designed to deliver natural gas to Alaskan communities and export liquefied natural gas to U.S. allies, primarily in Asia. The pipeline would move the gas from northern production centers to an export facility in south-central Alaska.

The project is a joint venture between the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, a state-owned entity, and U.S. energy developer Glenfarne Group.

Glenfarne stated in June that as many as 50 companies have expressed formal interest, representing potential commitments to buy $115 billion worth of LNG.

The project is strongly supported by the Trump administration, which has encouraged allies like Japan and South Korea to purchase more U.S. LNG as a means to reduce the U.S. trade deficit. 

Earlier this year, U.S. officials toured Asia to seek potential investors. However, the project faces challenges in funding as potential partners raise concerns over cost estimates. 

Japanese and other Asian companies have reportedly expressed concern that the project’s costs may be too high, considering Alaska’s cold climate and the immense scale of the pipeline.