Officials in the United States are urging Japan and South Korea to make a formal commitment within the next few weeks to a $44 billion natural gas project in Alaska.
The effort, known as Alaska L.N.G., is a centerpiece of President Trump’s energy agenda, and aims to ship gas from northern Alaska in a liquefied form to nations in Asia. Its feasibility hinges on securing backing from the region, home to some of the world’s largest purchasers of liquefied natural gas.
A group created by Mr. Trump that is advising him on domestic energy production, the National Energy Dominance Council, is seeking to convene officials from the trade ministries of both Japan and South Korea for a summit in Alaska on June 2, according to three people with knowledge of the confidential outreach who requested anonymity.
The project’s proponents want to be able to announce at the summit that they have received signed letters of intent from Japan and South Korea to invest in Alaska L.N.G. or purchase its gas, the people said. Taiwan formally signed a similar letter of intent to purchase gas from Alaska L.N.G. last month.
The Japanese and South Korean trade ministries did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Energy said Alaska L.N.G. has the potential to provide energy security for the United States and its allies, as well as create jobs and reduce the U.S. trade deficit. Mr. Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright “are committed,” he said, to supporting Alaska L.N.G.
Alaska L.N.G., first proposed more than a decade ago, had been considered by many in the energy industry to be a long shot. But it occupies a prominent spot in Mr. Trump’s efforts to reshape the U.S. energy landscape and restore momentum for fossil fuels.
The plan is to construct an 800-mile pipeline from fields north of the Arctic Circle to southern Alaska. From there, the gas would be cooled into liquid form and shipped on tankers to Asia.
For Asian countries, shipping L.N.G. from Alaska would be cheaper and quicker than importing it from many of their traditional sources, including Australia, the Middle East and the Gulf Coast of the United States.
But major Asian buyers of the fuel, including Japan, have long been cautious about the Alaska L.N.G. project because of its substantial costs, and doubts that it would actually be able to get off the ground.
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump signed an executive order aimed at “unleashing” Alaska’s energy potential, including the pipeline proposal.
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan face the possibility of additional double-digit-percentage tariffs, which have been imposed by Mr. Trump on numerous U.S. trading partners. Economists have warned that the tariffs, which have been paused until early July, could severely slow economic growth if they take effect.
Japan, which initiated tariff talks with the United States last week, has indicated that pledges to purchase more American liquefied natural gas would be a significant component of its offer to the administration. South Korea has made similar promises and is set to begin negotiations in Washington on Thursday.
Last month, Taiwan’s state oil and gas company, CPC, signed a letter of intent to buy six million metric tons of gas from Alaska L.N.G. That would represent almost a third of the total amount of liquefied natural gas Taiwan imported last year.
Mr. Trump has said he believes that countries in Asia would sign on to support the Alaska project. During his address to Congress in March, he said Japan and South Korea wanted to invest “trillions of dollars each” in the project, a statement that took officials in Tokyo and Seoul by surprise. He did not clarify how the project, which isn’t expected to begin shipping liquefied gas until the early 2030s, would receive trillions in investment.
In Japan, and most likely elsewhere, the challenge will be securing private-sector buyers willing to align with government plans and enter into long-term agreements to purchase gas from Alaska L.N.G. In Japan, U.S. officials see three energy companies — Jera, Tokyo Gas and Inpex — as potential customers, two of the people familiar with the matter said.
Many remain wary of the economics of such a deal. Letters of intent to participate in the project are likely to include room to withdraw. Alaska L.N.G. says the price of its gas would be competitive when it begins operations.
Kiuko Notoya and Jin Yu Young contributed reporting