Taiwan Joins Japan as Alaska LNG Hopeful

Taiwan has followed in Japan’s footsteps, expressing interest in buying more liquefied natural gas from the U.S. and more specifically from a project in Alaska, Reuters has reported, citing the country’s economy ministry.

The statement reflects concern about the impact of tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose on all countries that run a trade surplus with the U.S. Taiwan is one of them, with the surplus surging last year when Taiwanese exports to the U.S. jumped by 83% driven by electronics, to hit an all-time high of $111.4 billion.

The report follows news that Japan would be very much interested in buying Alaskan liquefied natural gas as a way of avoiding tariffs, including investing in a $44-billion project led by Alaska Gasline Development Corporation.

The project is designed to deliver North Slope natural gas to Alaskans and export LNG to U.S. allies across the Pacific. The project was authorized by President Trump’s administration in 2020, was reauthorized by President Biden’s administration in 2022, and is the only federally permitted LNG export facility on the U.S. West Coast, offering direct, canal-free shipping via uncontested waters to Asian markets, the Alaska state firm says.

Japan’s JERA also said this month it was ready to boost imports of U.S. gas in order to diversify its portfolio, and Mitsui, the trading major, signaled it was open to participating in the Alaskan LNG project.

Taiwan’s state energy company CPC is “indeed quite interested in Alaska’s natural gas and will continue to assess the feasibility and is also willing to make additional purchases,” the economy ministry statement said.

The island’s state news agency reported over the weekend that CPC was in talks with an Alaskan company that the report did not name “in the hope of reducing the trade surplus with the U.S.”.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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