South Korea has reportedly agreed to invest $22.3 billion in a gas-fired power plant in Texas as part of its trade deal with the Trump administration.
The investment would be South Korea’s first under the trade deal, Reuters noted in a report citing Korean media. The power plant will have a capacity of 6.3 GW and will supply power to data centers in the state.
South Korea, like other Asian countries, has pledged billions in U.S. investments in exchange for more favorable import tariff conditions from President Trump. In total, Seoul has promised to invest some $350 billion in the United States. Some of the money could go towards a nuclear power plant project or Alaska LNG, according to Korean media.
President Trump announced a deal that imposes a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, a move that averted a much steeper 25% levy originally threatened by Washington, in July last year. As part of the trade deal, South Korea committed to purchasing $100 billion worth of U.S. liquefied natural gas and other energy commodities, a move hailed by President Trump as a win for American workers and energy producers.
Later, in early 2026, South Korea also signaled plans to import more crude oil from the United States as well—a decision hastened by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran and the resulting squeeze on energy exports to Asia.
Meanwhile, liquefied gas prices on the spot market for Asia last week surged to almost $26 per million British thermal units as the United States and Iran resumed the exchange of fire in the Persian Gulf, casting new doubts about the chances of resumption of normal tanker traffic in the waterway anytime soon. South Korea is the world’s third-largest importer of liquefied natural gas, after China and Japan. Qatar, meanwhile, extended the force majeure on its exports.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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