Taiwan says it plans to buy liquefied natural gas from Alaska pipeline project

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan plans to buy 6 million metric tons (6.6 million U.S. tons) of liquefied natural gas annually from a U.S. project after extraction and could invest up to $4.4 billion in it, its economic affairs ministry said Wednesday, in what U.S. President Donald Trump touted as “one of the biggest deals ever made.” The United States is Taiwan’s main informal supporter and arms provider in the face of increased military threats by China, which sees the island as its own breakaway province, to be annexed by force if necessary. The details of the natural gas purchase plan come as Taiwan awaits a $14 billion arms sales package from the U.S. Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement that state-owned oil and gas firm CPC Corporation signed a letter of intent in March 2025 on the natural gas project in Alaska, and that the company and the U.S. side have made significant progress after more than a year of negotiations and evaluation. Under the current plan, the annual purchase and participation in the Alaska project development, with an estimated maximum investment of $4.4 billion, are part of the cooperation areas, the ministry said. If the project proceeds smoothly as scheduled, it is expected to start supporting the island’s natural gas supply in 2032 at the earliest, it said. Approaches such as long-term energy procurement and project investment would help diversify natural gas supply, enhance flexibility and deepen Taiwan-U.S. cooperation, the ministry said. It stressed that the cooperation would be conducted on the principle of mutual benefit, while CPC Corp would continue to coordinate with the U.S. side. The specific investment arrangements, shareholding ratios and related terms would be handled in accordance with subsequent negotiations between both sides and commercial contract procedures, it added. At a political rally in Alaska on Tuesday, Trump hailed Taiwan’s planned purchase from the proposed mega-gas project — an 807-mile pipeline connecting Alaska’s North Slope to a liquefied natural gas export terminal in the southern part of the state. “Taiwan has just agreed to buy 30% of the gas coming off the pipeline for the next 20 years,” Trump said. “That guarantees success. It’s one of the biggest commitments in history for anything. It’s one of the biggest deals ever made.” The statement from Taiwan did not specify how many years it has committed in the plan. Trump had similarly touted a $54 billion investment from South Korea in the Alaska pipeline. But South Korean officials were more cautious, saying they needed to assess the project’s commercial viability before committing to the investment. Maintaining a good relationship with the U.S. is important to Taiwan, which faces growing military and diplomatic pressure from Beijing. China has been pressing Trump to halt arms sales to Taiwan. After his summit in May with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, a record-breaking $14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan was stalled. Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China. Washington approved another $11 billion package for Taiwan in December. China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to the island of Taiwan, which has operated with its own government since then.