WASILLA, United States: US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that Taiwan has agreed to buy 30 per cent of the output from Alaska's to-be-built natural gas pipeline.
"Taiwan has just agreed to buy 30 per cent of the gas coming off the pipeline for the next 20 years," Trump said during a rally in Wasilla, Alaska.
Trump said Taiwan would also invest US$4.4 billion into the project, which comes as Taipei seeks to secure Washington's favour amid tensions with China. The self-ruled island is claimed by Beijing as its territory.
Taiwan imports nearly all of its energy supply, with official data showing about 38 per cent of its natural gas comes from Australia, 25 per cent from Qatar and just under 10 per cent from the United States.
Officials in Taiwan did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on Trump's announcement but have previously acknowledged their intent to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Alaska.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said their state-owned energy company CPC Corporation "will procure LNG and seek upstream investment participation rights to secure a stable future energy supply for Taiwan" in March 2025.
Trump said the deal "guarantees" the success of the project.
The planned 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) pipeline would transport natural gas extracted from the vast reserves in northern Alaska to the south, where it will be turned into LNG.
Backed by the US group Glenfarne and the state of Alaska, the project will have to overcome technical hurdles and is not expected to be operational before 2030.
Local leaders in Alaska have championed the pipeline for years, but high costs and questions about economic viability had hindered its progress.
Once operational, the LNG produced will be transported via tanker to Asia, its main market, in a relatively short seven- to nine-day journey across the Pacific Ocean.
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