Trump Dangles Alaska Gas Project as Part of Korean Investment
Package
The long-delayed project, which the
developer has not yet formally greenlit, would deliver Alaskan gas to Asian
markets but take several years to construct.
·
Investment
package: The
Trump administration announced on 30
September 2026 that South Korea could invest up to $200 billion in
U.S. power and energy projects.
·
Major
projects identified:
o A power-generation
facility in Texas.
o Eight nuclear power plants.
o The Alaska
LNG project, involving natural-gas production, an approximately
800-mile pipeline and LNG exports.
o Additional investments are expected in shipbuilding, semiconductors, technology
and energy.
·
Background
– $350 billion commitment:
The announcement follows South Korea's commitment under its 2025 trade agreement to
invest $350 billion in the
United States, alongside a commitment to purchase $100 billion of U.S. LNG.
·
Scale
compared with existing investment:
South Korean FDI in the United States stood at about $95 billion in 2025,
according to Commerce Department data. The proposed $350 billion commitment
would therefore represent a substantial increase over the existing investment
stock.
·
Economic-feasibility
condition: South
Korean officials have indicated that investments will depend on the economic feasibility of individual
projects, raising questions over how much of the announced
commitment will ultimately materialize.
·
Long-standing
proposal: The
Alaska LNG project seeks to transport natural gas from Alaska's North Slope
through an approximately 800-mile
pipeline toward Anchorage, with surplus gas subsequently
liquefied and exported.
·
Potential
Asian customers: South Korea and Japan,
both major energy importers, are considered potential customers for Alaska LNG.
·
Project
economics remain uncertain:
The project has been discussed for decades because of Alaska's substantial gas
resources, but its high construction costs have repeatedly delayed development.
·
Developer
has not formally approved the project:
Glenfarne, the project's lead developer, had expected
to approve the pipeline earlier in 2026, but that deadline passed without a
final investment decision.
·
Proposed
Alaska tax incentive failed:
A proposed state tax break intended to support the project did not obtain
sufficient backing from Alaska lawmakers.
·
Developer's
timetable: Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval said that, once financing is
available, pipeline construction could begin immediately and take about three years, with LNG
exports potentially beginning roughly two
years after pipeline completion.
·
South
Korea is considering investment in South
Korean-designed nuclear reactors in the United States.
·
South
Korean companies are also considering acquiring a 5–10% stake in Westinghouse,
the U.S. nuclear technology company.
·
The
nuclear component could therefore combine South Korean capital and reactor
technology with U.S. energy infrastructure development.
·
The
investment commitments originated from the U.S.–South Korea trade agreement announced in July 2025.
·
Under
the agreement:
o U.S. tariffs on South Korean products,
including automobiles, were reduced to 15%.
o South Korea committed to $350 billion of U.S. investment.
o South Korea committed to purchase $100 billion of U.S. LNG.
·
The
two governments have continued discussions over implementation, with the Trump
administration criticizing the pace of South Korean investment and threatening
higher tariffs.
·
Japan
has reportedly committed to invest $550
billion in the United States during Trump's term.
·
Japanese-linked
projects include:
o A large gas-fired power plant in Ohio.
o A deepwater
crude-export facility off Texas.
·
The
U.S. and Japan are working toward announcing another tranche of investments.
·
The
investment announcements are being made ahead
of the November 2026 U.S. midterm elections, including projects
in states where Senate contests are competitive.
·
The
administration is presenting the projects as evidence of increased foreign
investment and U.S. energy and industrial development.
·
President
Trump described the South Korean announcement as “one of the largest energy
infrastructure investments in American history.”
·
The
article notes that Trump has previously cited very large aggregate
foreign-investment figures, while experts have questioned whether all announced
commitments will ultimately be realized.
South Korea's proposed U.S.
investment package could reach $200 billion across power, nuclear, LNG,
technology and industrial projects, forming part of the broader $350 billion
investment commitment linked to the 2025 trade agreement. However, the distinction
between announced commitments and actual funded projects remains important,
particularly for the long-delayed Alaska LNG project, which still requires a
formal investment decision.
The
Trump administration said on Wednesday (30.09.2026) that South Korea would
invest up to $200 billion in a variety of power projects in the United States,
including a power generation facility in Texas, eight nuclear power plants and
a liquefied natural gas facility in Alaska.
They
are part of a slate of projects announced by the White House as it tries to
bolster its economic record in the run-up to the midterm elections in November.
Alaska is one of several red states that Democrats have targeted to try to win
back control of the Senate. Senator Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent,
got fewer votes than his Democratic challenger, Mary Peltola, in the state’s
nonpartisan primary last month.
The
announcement stemmed from a commitment by South Korea to invest $350 billion in
the United States as part of a trade deal last year.
But
many experts have questioned whether South Korea will be able to fulfill that commitment, which would more than triple the
country’s current investments in the United States. As of 2025, data from the
Commerce Department showed that foreign direct investment from South Korea totaled $95 billion. The South Korean government has said
its investments would be based on the economic feasibility of the projects.
There
are also questions about the viability of the Alaska project, which has long
been considered but not yet been formally approved by the developer.
The
project, Alaska L.N.G., is meant to solve what is — at least on paper — a
simple problem. Alaska produces a lot of natural gas on the North Slope that
would be very valuable, if only companies could move the gas to where there was
demand for it. Both Japan and South Korea, which are major energy importers,
would be natural customers.
One
way to do that would be to build a pipeline some 800 miles toward Anchorage,
which is facing the risk of gas shortages, and then export the extra natural
gas in liquid form, known as L.N.G. Companies have been batting around versions
of this idea for decades. The problem has always been that such an undertaking
would be very expensive.
Brendan
Duval, chief executive of the project’s lead developer, Glenfarne,
expressed optimism about the project on Wednesday.
“The
pipeline is going to take three years, and we can start immediately as soon as
this financing funds,” Mr. Duval said at the White House. “And then the L.N.G.
we’ll start exporting roughly two years after that.”
What
he didn’t say was that Glenfarne has yet to formally
decide whether to move forward with Alaska L.N.G. The company had expected to
greenlight the pipeline portion by earlier this year, but that deadline came
and went. A proposed state tax break for the project later failed to gain sufficient
support from Alaska lawmakers.
South
Korean officials said this month that they would move ahead with investments in
a gas-fired power plant in Texas, and consider investing in South
Korean-designed nuclear reactors. South Korea is also considering the purchase
of a 5 to 10 percent stake in Westinghouse, the U.S. nuclear technology firm.
The
Trump administration has also been eyeing the Alaska L.N.G. project to be part
of the investment commitments under the Japan deal.
In
February 2025, President Trump said Japan would “soon begin importing historic
new shipments of clean American liquefied natural gas in record numbers.” In
October, during a visit to Japan, he claimed that the project was “well
underway” and that Japan would be one of its largest customers.
Mr.
Trump has repeatedly made exaggerated claims about the amount of foreign
investment his industry has brought to the United States. He has said that over
$20 trillion of investment is pouring into the country — a total equivalent to
more than two-thirds of U.S. gross domestic product.
The
administration has extracted big investment commitments from countries that are
seeking to avoid tariffs, including the European Union and Japan, and some have
been moving forward with those investments.
Japan,
which has promised to invest $550 billion over Mr. Trump’s term, has announced
investments in a massive gas generation plant in Ohio and a deepwater crude
export facility off Texas. The countries are working to announce what would be
a third tranche of investments.
Mr.
Trump called the announcement on Wednesday “one of the largest energy
infrastructure investments in American history.” Speaking from the Oval Office
alongside Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and several energy executives,
he added, “We make great deals.”
Mr.
Trump announced the trade deal with South Korea in July 2025, but the countries
have continued to wrangle over some of the terms. In February, the Supreme
Court struck down the tariffs that the trade agreements with South Korea and
other countries were based on, sending Trump officials back to the drawing
board to find other ways to issue those tariffs.
Under
the agreement, the Trump administration lowered tariffs on South Korean
products, including cars, to 15 percent, similar to the rates for Japan and the
European Union. In addition to $350 billion of investments in the United
States, South Korea promised to buy $100 billion of liquefied natural gas.
South
Korean officials said they would direct some of their investment toward
shipbuilding, while other funding would go into semiconductors, technology and
energy. Mr. Trump subsequently criticized the country for failing to carry out
the trade deal fast enough and threatened to raise tariffs again.
The
Trump administration has been ramping up its investment announcements as the
midterms approach, seeking to persuade voters in competitive states of the
success of its economic policy.
On
Wednesday, Mr. Trump announced in the Oval Office that an Indian firm would
build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa, where Republicans are trying to hold
on to a Senate seat. On Thursday, the president is expected to travel to Texas
to speak from a truck factory.