Taiwanese state energy firm CPC Corp signed on Thursday an agreement with Alaska Gasline Development Corp to buy liquefied natural gas and invest in the project, a move Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said would ensure the island's energy security.
Officials from state-run AGDC and development partner Glenfarne Group are visiting Asian countries this week to court investors for a natural gas project that President Donald Trump says could pump trillions of dollars into the U.S., although analysts say the project's high costs have been a focal point for years.
CPC is striving to participate in the project's upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the island's Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement, adding the move would "effectively shorten shipping time and risks, boosting reliability of Taiwan's gas supply."
The ministry said CPC had signed a letter of intent to purchase LNG and invest in the project, without giving details.
Speaking at a dinner reception in Taipei, which was attended by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, Lai said natural gas from Alaska "can meet our need and ensure our energy security."
In response, Dunleavy said by securing long-term natural gas supplies from Alaska, Taiwan could further diversify its LNG sources, "ensuring stable energy prices and consistent supply from a friendly neighbour for many decades to come."
The officials want to transport gas south from Alaska's remote north via a $44 billion, 1,300-km (800-mile) pipeline, to be shipped as LNG to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, bypassing the Panama Canal.
The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier at a time when China has ramped up military pressure against the democratically-governed island that it claims as its own. Taiwan strongly rejects China's sovereignty claim.
Taiwan will deepen military cooperation with the United States including intelligence sharing and holding joint tabletop exercises, the island's defence ministry said in a report this week amid a heightened military threat from China.
(Reuters)
