Trump Officials Set for Talks With Asia Leaders on Alaska Energy
(Bloomberg) -- Almost two dozen foreign officials are set to join top US government leaders in meetings focused on Alaska’s energy resources, as President Donald Trump encourages other nations to buy natural gas from the Frontier State.
Foreign representatives visiting Alaska for the discussions in coming days are expected to include representatives from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, India and the United Arab Emirates, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The US delegation will be led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who’s also the chair of Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council; the panel’s vice-chair, Energy Secretary Chris Wright; and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, the people said.
The trip is set to include visits to an oil pipeline and gas processing facilities on Alaska’s North Slope as well as meetings with industry officials and indigenous people, they said.
It comes as Trump moves to expand energy development in the state, a priority he outlined in an executive order hours after his Jan. 20 inauguration. And it coincides with a broad push by other nations to curry favor with the president, including through investment commitments, to ward off threatened tariffs.
Trump has repeatedly touted the $44 billion Alaska LNG project, which is meant to transport natural gas across the state for export. Although it has been planned for decades, the project faces headwinds due to its large price tag, mammoth scale and the sheer challenge of constructing an 800-mile (1,290 kilometers) pipeline across Alaska.
Trump pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the project during their meeting in February, winning his commitment to cooperate on strengthening energy security, “including increasing exports of United States liquefied natural gas to Japan in a mutually beneficial manner.”
Representatives of the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea also have been in talks with administration officials on the venture.
Discussions are expected to unfold over several days, including during site visits at the prolific Prudhoe Bay oil field, which has pumped crude for roughly five decades, and where units of ConocoPhillips and Hilcorp Energy Co. have operations. Other conversations are expected in Utqiagvik and Anchorage, including as part of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference.
Trump officials see the visit as a chance to highlight the administration’s focus on unleashing Alaska’s energy abundance and draw a contrast with policies under former President Joe Biden they say locked up the state’s oil, gas and mineral potential. While Alaska LNG will be a significant portion of the discussions, a person familiar with the matter said, there’s an opportunity to examine the state’s resource potential and further policy shifts that can help deliver it.
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