Japan and South Korea want to build a gas pipeline in Alaska
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Japan, South Korea and other countries want to collaborate with the United States on a “giant” natural gas pipeline in Alaska, US President Donald Trump announced, claiming that they will invest “trillions of dollars each”, reports Reuters.
Trump said in a speech before the US Congress that this pipeline will be one of the largest in the world.
“Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partners, with investments of trillions of dollars each”, he said, according to Agerpres.
Earlier on Tuesday, South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said that the United States had asked South Korea and other countries if they were interested in participating in the liquefied natural gas project in Alaska.
He said that Seoul and Washington agreed to establish a working group to discuss pipelines, energy, shipbuilding, tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
The South Korean minister’s comments came after he traveled to Washington last month to seek exemptions from the Trump administration’s tariffs, which are set to hit South Korea’s export-dependent economy hard.
During the visit, Ahn Duk-geun expressed South Korea’s interest in joining the $44 billion Alaska gas project in partnership with the United States and Japan, Yonhap news agency reported.
On Sunday, Doug Burgum, co-chair of the White House’s National Energy Policy Council, said the 800-mile (1,280 km) pipeline would allow the United States to sell energy to its allies and “raise money for the U.S. Treasury.”
While the Alaska LNG proposal faces cost and logistical hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other countries are embracing the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports on a larger scale.
Japanese officials have not said they have agreed to participate in the trial, but have agreed to look into the matter, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Japan’s trade minister plans to visit Washington this month to seek exemptions from Trump’s tariffs and to discuss Japan’s plans to buy more liquefied natural gas from the United States.
