Trump on Alaska LNG: “Taiwan to Invest Alongside South Korea and Buy Gas for 20 Years”

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump has unilaterally claimed that South Korea and Taiwan will both invest in Alaska’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project. South Korea’s investment has been reported at $50.1 billion (about 67 trillion won), and Taiwan’s at $4.4 billion (about 6 trillion won). Taiwan is also expected to buy LNG produced in Alaska directly.
According to ABC and other local media, Trump arrived in Wasilla, Alaska, on the 13th (local time) and held a midterm campaign rally. Mentioning the LNG project, he said, “Taiwan will invest $4.4 billion in this project, in addition to the $50 billion South Korea has already pledged to Alaska.” The project would transport natural gas extracted from Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope to a southern port, where it would be liquefied and then sold to Asia and elsewhere. It would require infrastructure including a roughly 1,297-kilometer pipeline running north to south through Alaska and liquefaction terminals. Energy companies began pursuing the project in earnest in 2014 but withdrew in 2017 over its enormous costs and questions about its economic viability. The estimated cost is about $44.5 billion to $54.5 billion. In an announcement on the 30th of last month, Trump said the South Korean government would “invest up to $200 billion (about 267 trillion won)” in U.S. infrastructure construction, including the project. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who attended the announcement, said, “South Korea will invest more than $50 billion in the Alaska LNG project.”
Lutnick also attended the Alaska rally on the 13th. Taking the stage that day, he said, “The president elevated this [LNG] project to a federal government-level project, and as a result, the Koreans—South Korea—have pledged $50.1 billion to build a pipeline in Alaska.” That is $100 million more than the amount Trump cited.
That same day, White House spokesperson Katie Zachariah put South Korea’s investment at $54 billion. In his first briefing since taking office this month, he emphasized that Trump had “unveiled a South Korean energy investment package worth up to $200 billion in the United States.” He went on to claim, “$54 billion will go toward building the Alaska LNG pipeline and terminals to supply energy to countries across the Pacific and sell fuel to allies.”

At the rally on the 13th, Trump said Taiwan would invest in the LNG project and had “just agreed to buy 30% of the gas coming from the (Alaska) pipeline for the next 20 years.” He said the agreement “guarantees the project’s success” and called it “one of the largest commitments in history, and one of the biggest deals ever.” Trump claimed, “Taiwan will pay for it, and the 20-year term guarantees success.” Lutnick, who was also there, explained, “The president told me, ‘We need to do this project better.’” Lutnick claimed, “After a week of consultations with the Taiwanese government, Taiwan agreed to buy 30% of the volume produced through this pipeline and invest $4.4 billion.”
At the rally that day, Trump said, “This huge project we’ve just created for Alaska will create at least 13,000 jobs and save the average Alaskan household at least $2,000 a year in energy costs.” He claimed, “All the necessary permits have been approved. We could start construction tonight,” and added, “If the Democratic candidate wins, all of these projects will be halted.”
In a statement this month, the South Korean government clarified that Trump’s remarks about LNG investment were still at the feasibility assessment stage and that no investment had been finalized. The Taiwanese government has not issued an official response to Trump’s remarks. However, Taiwan’s state-owned oil company CPC Corporation signed a letter of intent with the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) on March 20 last year to pre-purchase 6 million tons of LNG and invest in the project. AGDC is a company under the Alaska state government and holds a 25% stake in the rights to the pipeline project.
Earlier, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska said at a discussion with a U.S. think tank in February last year, “Our Asian allies Japan, South Korea and Taiwan import a lot of natural gas from Qatar, and I think that’s a big mistake.” He stressed, “If Japan, South Korea and Taiwan import LNG from Alaska, they will be escorted by U.S. warships.” At the rally on the 13th, Trump said, “Two weeks ago (September 30), I announced a historic federal government project with Dan Sullivan to build an Alaska gas pipeline,” and urged voters to vote for Sullivan again in the midterm elections.

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