US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Taiwan had agreed to buy 30% of the gas from a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska.
“Taiwan just agreed to buy 30% of the gas coming from the pipeline for the next 20 years,” Trump said at a rally in Alaska. “This guarantees success.”
His latest remarks follow repeated claims earlier this month that South Korea had agreed to join the $50 billion Alaska LNG project, even as Seoul claimed its participation was not finalized. “We will also invest $4.4 billion in the project, in addition to the $50 billion already committed by South Korea to Alaska,” Trump said.
However, the terms of the Taiwan deal cited by Trump were not immediately clear.
Last year, Taiwan’s state-owned energy company CPC Corp reportedly reached an agreement with Alaska Gasline Development Corp to buy LNG and invest in the pipeline project.
Taiwan, home to semiconductor giant TSMC, has seen its energy demand increase due to AI-driven growth. However, the island relies on imports for more than 90% of its energy supply, and this summer the average growth rate of its electricity demand through 2035 is expected to exceed that of Japan and South Korea.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said the growth rate would increase by about 2.5 percent annually, the second highest forecast in its history. The democratically autonomous island is still awaiting major new arms sales from the United States.
Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of its territory.
Glenfarne, the developer of the Alaska LNG pipeline, told the US government in a report this month that the project aims to deliver its first gas in 2029.
Trump has also stepped up pressure on South Korea over its participation in the project, warning earlier this month that he would charge the country more and threatening to double the charges if Seoul did not sign soon, without specifying what would be doubled. This sparked speculation in South Korean media that he was referring to higher tariffs.
The White House, the Taiwanese Ministry of Energy and CPC Corp. did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
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