Trump says Taiwan will buy Alaska LNG. The project is still in flux.
Por Daniel Desrochers and James Bikales — POLITICO – TOP Stories
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the government of Taiwan committed to purchasing billions worth of liquified natural gas from a proposed Alaska energy pipeline, despite the fact that funding for the project is still in dispute.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Taiwan agreed to buy up to $80 billion worth of liquified natural gas from the long-stalled pipeline in what he called the “largest Offtake Agreement in History.” He also said the country agreed to invest $4.4 billion in equity into the project because it was “now a U.S. Federal Government Project.”
“This is the GREATEST Project in Alaska History, and this only happens with me in the White House,” Trump wrote.
Trump announced last month that South Korea had committed $54 billion to the pipeline project as part of a broader investment deal Seoul made with the White House last year in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs. As part of the terms of that investment agreement, the U.S. and South Korea would get equal shares of the project until the original investment is returned, after which the U.S. would get 90 percent. That is likely what Trump was referring to in claiming the pipeline will be a federal project.
South Korea’s government, however, quickly contested Trump’s claim that it had finalized funding for the pipeline, saying it is still determining whether the project was viable and had not yet approved the money.
The White House declined to provide more details and the project’s developer, Glenfarne, declined to comment.
The Trump administration has explored multiple ways over the years to push the project forward through direct government involvement. Last year, officials said they were considering having military bases sign contracts to buy gas from the project.
With Alaska’s Senate race still neck-and-neck weeks before the midterms, the project took on new political urgency. The president touted GOP incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan’s involvement in the alleged funding deal with South Korea during a Sept. 30 Oval Office announcement.
“He’s running for office, he’s a spectacular senator, not just for the country, but for the world. And he’s got my ear,” Trump said at the event, with Sullivan by his side.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs confirmed in a statement Wednesday that it had committed to purchasing 6 million tons of Alaska LNG annually after extraction and that it would put $4.4 billion toward project development — following through on a letter of intent that its state-owned oil and gas company, CPC Corporation, signed with the project developers in March 2025.
But the ministry’s statement also said the partnership hinges on “the principles of mutual benefit and professionalism” and that it “will conduct project studies and budget approvals according to company procedures.”
“Specific investment arrangements, shareholding ratios, and related conditions will be handled according to subsequent negotiations and commercial contract procedures, in order to expand the company’s operations and respond to domestic energy supply needs,” the government said, according to a translation.
The Alaska LNG project, which would tap into vast gas reserves in the northern part of the state, has been kicked around since the Carter administration. None of the attempts to bring it to fruition have been found commercially viable.
Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories
