Alaska
Trump tariffs push Asian trade partners to weigh investing in massive Alaska energy project
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are considering investing in a massive natural gas project in Alaska in an attempt to reach trade deals that would both satisfy demands from President Donald Trump and avoid high U.S. tariffs on their exports.
Alaska has long sought to build an 800-mile pipeline crossing the state from the North Slope in the Arctic Circle to the Cook Inlet in the south, where gas would be cooled into liquid for export to Asia. The project, with a staggering price tag topping $40 billion, has been stuck on the drawing board for years.
Alaska LNG, as the project is known, is showing new signs of life — with Trump touting the project as a national priority. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that the liquified natural gas (LNG) project could play an important role in trade negotiations with South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
“We are thinking about a big LNG project in Alaska that South Korea, Japan [and] Taiwan are interested in financing and taking a substantial portion of the offtake,” Bessent told reporters on April 9, saying such an agreement would help meet Trump’s goal of reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
Taiwan’s state oil and gas company CPC Corp. signed a letter of intent in March to purchase six million metric tons of gas from Alaska LNG, said Brendan Duval, CEO and founder of Glenfarne Group, the project’s lead developer.
“You can imagine the geopolitical enhancements whether it’s for tariff or military reasons — Taiwan is really, really focused on getting that signed up,” Duval told CNBC in an interview. CPC has also offered to invest directly in Alaska LNG and supply equipment, Duval said.
March trade mission
Duval and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy traveled to South Korea and Japan on a trade mission in March, meeting with high-ranking officials in government and industry. Japanese and South Korean companies have asked whether their development banks can help finance Alaska LNG, Duval said.
“Lately, there has been quite a lot of inquiries from India, so there’s a fourth horse that’s entered the race,” Duval said. Thailand and other Asian countries have also shown interest, he said.
The Alaska LNG project has three major pieces: The pipeline, a gas processing plant on the North Slope and a plant to liquify the gas for export at Nikiski, Alaska. These facilities are estimated to cost roughly $12 billion, $10 billion, and $20 billion respectively, Dunleavy said at an energy conference in Houston in March.
The permits for Alaska LNG are already in place, the CEO said. Glenfarne expects to reach a final investment decision in the next six to 12 months on the first phase of the project, a pipeline from the North Slope to Anchorage that will supply gas for domestic consumption in Alaska, Duval said.
Construction on the LNG plant is expected to begin in late 2026, the CEO said. The goal is to complete construction on the entire Alaska LNG project in four and a half years with full commercial operations starting in 2031, he said.
Alaska LNG plans to produce 20 million metric tons of LNG per year, equal to about 23% of the 87 million tons of LNG that the U.S. exported last year, according to data from Kpler, a commodity researcher.
Unleashing Alaskan resources
Alaska plays a central role in Trump’s goal to boost production and exports of U.S. oil and gas, part of the White House’s agenda for U.S. “energy dominance.” The president issued an executive order on his first day in office seeking to tap Alaska’s “extraordinary resource potential,” prioritizing the development of LNG in the state.
“We’ll have that framed on our walls in Alaska for decades,” Gov. Dunleavy said at the Houston conference last month, referring to the executive order.
Once a net importer, the U.S. has rapidly become the largest exporter of LNG in the world, playing an increasingly vital role in fueling power plants in Asia and Europe for allies with limited domestic energy resources. Japan and South Korea, for example, each took about 8% of U.S. LNG exports last year, according to Kpler data.
The Trump administration views Alaska LNG as “an important strategic project,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said at the Houston energy conference. LNG exports from Alaska would reach Japan in about eight days rather than having to pass through the congested Panama Canal from terminals on the Gulf Coast, Dunleavy said at the same conference.
“They can have the opportunity to get delivered to them the most efficient LNG from an allied partner,” while avoiding chokepoints, Duval said. “This is the only LNG the U.S. can supply that has a direct route, and they are very cognizant about that in today’s environment.”
North Pacific talks
Trump told reporters during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in February that the two countries were discussing the pipeline and the possibility of a joint venture to exploit Alaska oil and gas. Trump said he discussed the “large scale purchase of U.S. LNG” in an April 8 phone call with South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-Soo, and Korea’s participation in a “joint venture in an Alaska pipeline.”
Japan wants to maintain its security agreement with the U.S. against a rising China and avoid tariffs, officials at the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority told the Alaska Senate finance committee during a February presentation. “We are now in a completely ‘transactional’ trade world,” the executives said. Tokyo must invest more in the U.S., buy more LNG and enter a joint venture linked to Alaska oil and gas, they said.
The project would likely be a structured as a loose joint venture, with Asian partners signing contracts for large volumes of LNG, Duval said, and won’t necessarily translate into Japan, Taiwan and South Korea holding direct equity stakes in Alaska LNG, though Glenfarne is open to the possibility, he said.
Glenfarne’s goal is to be the long-term owner and operator of Alaska LNG with partners, Duval said. Glenfarne is a privately-held developer, owner and operator of energy infrastructure based in New York City and Houston. The company assumed a 75% stake in Alaska LNG from the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation in March, with AGDC keeping 25%.
Roadblocks and commercial viability
The Trump administration is clearly pressuring Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to invest in Alaska LNG, said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy and former energy advisor to President George W. Bush. Although Japan wants to both placate Trump and diversify its LNG supplies, Tokyo may yet hesitate to invest in Alaska LNG due to the project’s cost, complexity and risk, McNally said.
Another roadblock is that Democrats could return to power in 2028 and try to stop the project from advancing, citing environmental effects, McNally said. President Joe Biden, after all, paused permits for new LNG exports to countries including Japan that don’t have free trade agreements with the U.S. But Trump reversed Biden’s suspension as part of a torrent of executive orders tied to energy on his first day in office in January.
In addition to political risk, Alaska LNG “doesn’t have a clear cut commercial logic,” said Alex Munton, head of global gas and LNG research at Rapidan. “If it did, it would have had a lot more support than it has thus far, and this project has been on the planning board for literally decades,” Munton said. There are more attractive, existing LNG options for Asian customers on the Gulf Coast, he said.
The project is expensive even by the standards of an LNG industry that builds some of the costliest infrastructure in the energy sector, Munton said. The price tag of more than $40 billion likely needs to be revised upwards given that it is two years old, the analyst said.
“You have to assume that the costs are going to be much higher than the publicly quoted figures,” Munton said. Alaska LNG will likely need “public policy or a public commitment of funds to bring it to life,” the analyst said.
Duval said Alaska LNG will be competitive with no government subsidy. “It is a naturally competitive source of LNG, independent of the geopolitical benefits, independent of the tariff discussions,” he said.
“We have the support of the president of the United States,” Dunleavy said in Houston. “We have Asian allies that need gas. Geopolitical alliances are changing. Tariff questions are coming up. When we really look at it in that context, it’s a very viable project.”
Alaska
Officials finish moving Western Alaska storm evacuees from Anchorage shelters into longer-term housing
All evacuees recently sent to mass shelters in Anchorage after a devastating Western Alaska storm forced them from their homes have been placed in longer-term, non-congregate housing, officials said Friday.
“This transition will help families as they continue to put their lives back together,” said Bryan Fisher, director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in a statement.
Earlier in October, ex-Typhoon Halong displaced scores of residents from their Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities after the storm’s powerful winds and flooding severely damaged or destroyed homes and infrastructure across the region.
A mass evacuation effort resulted in more than 650 people arriving in Anchorage in the storm’s wake, with many ending up in mass shelters at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center and Egan Civic and Convention Center while officials looked for more suitable long-term shelter situations.
On Friday, the State Emergency Operations Center said it had finished moving all evacuees — 379 people in total — who had been staying at Anchorage’s two mass shelters into hotels and closed the spaces.
Evacuees who had been sheltering in Bethel have also been placed in non-congregate housing, the State Emergency Operations Center said in a separate Friday statement.
Some shelters will remain in “standby status for the coming days” to accept potential evacuees before placement into non-congregate settings, according to the State Emergency Operations Center.
Officials started moving hundreds of evacuees from congregate shelter spaces in Anchorage into longer-term housing earlier this week while in Western Alaska, crews raced to clean up and winterize communities, or conduct basic repairs in villages, so displaced residents can start returning home.
It’s unclear how long evacuees will remain in the long-term shelters, said Vivian Korthuis, CEO of the Association of Village Council Presidents.
“It’s very stressful right now, but in the long run, things will work out, and we just need to keep on moving forward,” she said.
AVCP, a regional nonprofit that supports and advocates for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta’s 56 tribes, held a media briefing Friday afternoon to detail its current relief work in affected communities and long-term disaster response priorities.
The organization, alongside others like the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp., Alaska Organized Militia and Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection, has been working to make homes and communities livable since officials wrapped up mass evacuations.
“These relief efforts are not a short-term thing,” said AVCP spokesperson Dendra Chavez. “This is going to be a long-term effort that we’re all working on.”
While work continues in villages for displaced residents to return, officials said they will continue to help evacuees who have moved into longer-term shelter housing in Anchorage access disaster recovery services and financial assistance.
Other resources, like a Midtown Anchorage disaster resource assistance center, will also remain open, Fisher said in a statement.
“We will continue to work with organizations providing services to storm survivors to ensure their needs are met,” he said.
As of Friday, 1,177 people affected by the storm had applied for state disaster recovery aid, while more than 320 had applied for individual federal aid unlocked by President Donald Trump’s Oct. 22 federal disaster declaration, according to a State Emergency Operations Center statement.
Alaska
‘People experience justice:’ First female African-American judge in Alaska judicial history retiring
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The first African-American female Judge appointed to the Alaska Judiciary is retiring this week — Judge Pamela Scott Washington.
Former Governor Sean Parnell appointed Washington to the Anchorage District Court on August 9, 2010, making history in the process. Prior to Washington. Superior Court Judge Larry Card was the first Black Judge in the state.
“I hadn’t thought about being special because I was the first African-American woman. And I got educated by that from the newspaper,” Washington said.
Washington’s career, trailblazing status, and retirement were celebrated at a party on Thursday evening, hosted by the Alaska Black Caucus.
In the span of her 15 years on Alaska’s Court Bench, Washington served as the Presiding Judge Mental Health Court, and Co-Chair of the Alaska Supreme Court Fairness, Diversity, and Equality Commission. Shortly before going into retirement, Washington was sworn in as the newest president of the National Association of Women Judges.
Reflecting back on her time on the bench, and her nearly 40 years in the legal industry, Washington said she never anticipated being a “trailblazer” when she started, but relishes the impact that she made.
“People experience justice, not just… it’s just not just done,” Washington said. “It’s seen, it’s experienced, it’s felt, and I think if my colleagues recognize that it’s the entire… the administration of justice is a whole process.”
“And so sometimes you can just be kind. People might not like your decision, but they’re going to remember how they experienced you.”
Having served for so long, working with judges and lawyers across the country, even serving on an advisory committee of only five American judges to Pope Francis, Washington’s resume is lengthy. Of all that, Washington said the highlight of her career is the community she served, speaking at schools, and leaving an impact outside of the courtroom.
“I think the thing that I’ve learned the most is that being a public servant and having people recognize you in the grocery store, letting them see that you’re just like them,” Washington said. “We’re doing life the same, doing life together. I think that’s how people trust the system better, if we could be more transparent, more open.”
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President Donald Trump has suggested a possible oil and gas deal for Alaska with China following his meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday: “A very large scale transaction may take place concerning the purchase of oil and gas from the great state of Alaska.”
Why It Matters
China has previously avoided purchasing U.S. crude oil, and has been reselling U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) since early this year. America only accounted for around five percent of China’s LNG imports and two percent of its crude oil imports in 2024, according to Chinese customs data. Trump’s announcement indicates a change in China’s trade policy.
It comes after trade tensions escalated rapidly between the U.S. and China this year, with tariffs being imposed by both nations.
This has included China’s 44 percent tariff on U.S. soybean exports, which was a huge blow to American farmers. Soybeans make up about 14 percent of total U.S. agricultural exports, making them America’s most valuable foodstuff sold abroad.
Trump also threatened earlier this month to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods starting in November following China’s tightening restrictions on rare earths exports.
What To Know
Trump said on Truth Social that China had agreed to “begin the process of purchasing” American energy, and added that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum would be meeting to see if a deal “can be worked out.”
The president also said that President Xi had authorized China to begin purchasing “massive amounts” of soybeans and other farm products. “Farmers should immediately go out and buy more land and larger tractors,” he said.
Trump added that China had agreed to “openly and freely” continue the flow of rare earths and critical minerals, and that Beijing would “work diligently” with the U.S. to stop the flow of fentanyl.
Trump has previously said that China had not done enough to prevent the flow of precursor chemicals – which are used to make fentanyl – into the U.S.
It comes after the Trump administration announced last week that it had finalized plans to open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to potential oil and gas drilling, reviving a decades-long political and environmental battle over one of America’s most pristine and contested landscapes.
The move fulfilled a campaign promise by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to restore energy exploration in the Arctic region.
What People Are Saying
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I had a truly great meeting with President Xi of China. There is enormous respect between our two countries, and that will only be enhanced with what just took place. We agreed on many things, with others, even of high importance, being very close to resolved.
“I was extremely honored by the fact that President Xi authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of soybeans, sorghum, and other farm products. Our farmers will be very happy! In fact, as I said once before during my first Administration, farmers should immediately go out and buy more land and larger tractors. I would like to thank President Xi for this!”
What Happens Next
Trump said that Wright and Burgum will be meeting to work on the details of the deal, but it is not yet clear when the discussions will take place.
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