ByTsvetana Paraskova– Mar 17, 2025, 8:30 AM CDT
Officials from Alaska plan a visit to Japan and South Korea in search of potential Asian investors in the planned $44-billion Alaska LNG project, which is strongly supported by the Trump Administration.
State firm Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) seeks to advance the Alaska LNG project, designed to deliver North Slope natural gas to Alaskans and export LNG to U.S. allies across the Pacific.
‘;
document.write(write_html);
}
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Day One to unleash “Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential,” which includes “prioritize the development of Alaska’s LNG potential, including the permitting of all necessary pipeline and export infrastructure related to the Alaska LNG Project, giving due consideration to the economic and national security benefits associated with such development.”
The U.S. Administration has been pressing Japan and South Korea to buy more LNG as a way to reduce America’s trade deficit with its Asian allies.
Officials from AGDC and the project’s development partner Glenfarne Group will visit “allied Asian nations in late March to update industry leaders on Alaska LNG’s economic and strategic competitive advantages, and discuss opportunities for participation,” AGDC spokesperson Tim Fitzpatrick told Reuters.
Alaska’s Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy is looking to coordinate a visit to South Korea to discuss Alaska LNG, diplomatic sources told South Korean Yonhap news agency last week.
Earlier last week, Governor Dunleavy said that Alaska LNG could begin exports by 2030.
Japan and Taiwan have expressed interest in potential investments in the project.
Japanese trading giant Mitsui, which has investments in LNG projects globally, could consider supporting Alaska LNG, Mitsui’s chief financial officer Tetsuya Shigeta told Reuters last month.
South Korea and the United States are setting up a working group to discuss Alaska LNG, as well as energy, shipbuilding, tariffs, and non-tariff barriers.
Despite the signals that Asian partners are willing to discuss potential participation in Alaska LNG, Japanese companies are concerned that the costs may be too high considering the cold weather in Alaska and the scale of the pipelines needed to bring the project on stream.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Join the discussion | Back to homepage
