"Alaska LNG Project Included in South Korea's $200 Billion U.S. Investment"... Trump to Announce $54 Billion

【Financial News, New York—Lee Byung-cheol, Correspondent】 The Alaska LNG Project will be included in South Korea's $200 billion strategic investment in the United States, worth approximately 280 trillion won. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce on the 30th (local time) a plan to allocate $54 billion of that amount to the Alaska LNG Project. This means the Alaska LNG Project, for which the South Korean government has said it would assess commercial viability before holding follow-up discussions, will be included among the major investment projects proposed by the United States.
Reuters reported, citing a White House official, that President Donald Trump is expected to unveil the first major projects under South Korea's $200 billion strategic investment in the United States. The investments will include the Alaska LNG Project, eight large nuclear power plants in the United States and a Texas power-generation facility with a capacity of at least 6 gigawatts (GW).
The investment is part of a broader $350 billion U.S. investment package that South Korea pledged last year when it concluded trade negotiations with the United States. The package consists of $150 billion for shipbuilding and $200 billion in strategic investments. The White House said it plans to allocate $54 billion of the package to the Alaska LNG Project.
The Alaska LNG Project is a major energy project in which President Donald Trump has consistently sought participation from South Korea and Japan since taking office. The project involves building an 807-mile (approximately 1,300-kilometer) pipeline and liquefaction facilities to transport natural gas produced at the North Slope at Alaska's northernmost point to southern Nikiski.
President Donald Trump has emphasized the Alaska LNG Project as an initiative that could simultaneously expand U.S. energy exports and strengthen the energy security of allies such as South Korea and Japan. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers explained that the announcement was "a large-scale energy infrastructure investment to develop Alaska's vast resource potential and accelerate the revival of U.S. nuclear energy."
However, the South Korean government has not defined the Alaska LNG Project as a finalized investment and has maintained that it will review the project's commercial viability. South Korea selected a gas-fired power plant with a capacity of at least 6 GW operated by Texas Ensignal as the first project under its $200 billion strategic investment, while leaving the Alaska LNG Project and eight large nuclear power plants for further review.
The Alaska LNG Project has faced difficulties for years because of its massive construction costs and financing challenges. Its current developer, Glenfarne Group, has secured commitments to purchase 13 million tonnes of LNG annually. To obtain financing, however, it must secure additional purchase commitments totaling 3 million tonnes per year and convert its existing commitments into binding contracts. JERA and Tokyo Gas have signed preliminary agreements to purchase a combined 2 million tonnes annually if the project is built.

[email protected] Lee Byung-cheol, Correspondent Reporter