Sullivan to Press for AK LNG Project in Tokyo, Seoul

08.28.24

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA-U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today embarks on a trip to Seoul and Tokyo to meet with senior government and business leaders as part of a bipartisan Senate delegation. Sen. Sullivan has been a strong advocate for deepening the trilateral cooperation among the three nations, highlighting the central role liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Alaska can play in advancing each nation's energy security. The Alaska LNG Project will be capable of providing more than three billion cubic feet of low-cost, low-emission natural gas to Alaskans and to allied nations around the world each day.

"The Alaska LNG Project provides an important opportunity to meet the long-term energy needs of America's Indo-Pacific allies, and even more importantly, to meet the in-state energy needs of Alaskans for decades to come," said Sen. Sullivan. "I am embarking on my fourth trip to Japan and Korea in the past two years to try to spur momentum on this critical energy project, particularly as our allies in Japan and Korea must get off of Russian oil and gas. I have been relentlessly focused on aligning the interests of key stakeholders, investors, producers, engineering firms, and government leaders in the U.S., Japan, and Korea. On the federal side, we have made significant progress-securing all 35 necessary federal permits, including a FERC export license, and a roughly $30 billion federal loan guarantee backing the project, and establishing Alaska LNG Task Forces in our embassies in Tokyo and Seoul. I am hopeful that, given the looming energy needs facing Alaska, that all leaders in our state-private sector, labor, resource development, energy sector, and elected officials-can work together in making sure that the long-term solutions to Alaska's energy challenges-particularly in Southcentral-come from Alaska's own rich energy resources and workers, not from importing much more expensive gas from Canada or Mexico."

In Japan, Sen. Sullivan will be meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida; Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito; Foreign Minister Y?ko Kamikawa; Defense Minister Minoru Kihara; National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba; and senior executives from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), NEC Corporation, JERA Co., Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), and INPEX Corp. In South Korea, Sen. Sullivan will be meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol; Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun; Foreign Affairs Minister Cho Tae-yul; Commander of U.S. Forces Korea General Paul LaCamera; and senior executives from Samsung, Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and LG.

Sen. Sullivan is joined on the Senate delegation visit by Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.).

Below is a timeline of Sen. Sullivan's recent work on deepening the energy security ties between the U.S. and America's Japanese and Korean allies.

• In February 2024, Sen. Sullivan and seven of his Senate colleagues introduced a Senate resolution recognizing the importance of trilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
• On October 8, 2023, Sen. Sullivan penned an op-ed in the Anchorage Daily News urging Alaskans to unite in advancing the Alaska LNG Project as a critical solution to Alaska's energy needs.
• In June 2023, Sen. Sullivan visited South Korea and Japan, where he met with senior government and private sector officials about the Alaska LNG Project. Similar to his October 2022 visit to Tokyo, Sen. Sullivan convened an Alaska LNG Summit of U.S. and Korean energy and policy leaders with the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. Following the visit, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul established an Alaska LNG Task Force.
• On May 18, 2023, Sen. Sullivan introduced the Indo-Pacific Strategic Energy Initiative Act, legislation to promote the financing and development of new energy infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region-with a focus on natural gas-in order to end U.S. allies' dependance on Russian natural gas in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• In May 2023, Sen. Sullivan spoke at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference about the Alaska LNG Project and opportunities to deliver clean-burning, low-cost gas to Alaskans and to America's Indo-Pacific allies.
• In May 2023, Sen. Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) welcomed a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) approval of the Alaska LNG Project.
• On March 6, 2023, Sen. Sullivan led a letter with his Senate colleagues to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel urging the Biden administration to publicly support the export of abundant U.S. natural gas to America's allies in Europe and Asia, particularly Japan, which has prioritized energy security in its term leading the G7.
• On December 16, 2022, Sen. Sullivan welcomed a new national security strategy and related documents released by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that focuses on deepening Japan and the U.S.'s national security cooperation.
• In October 2022, Sen. Sullivan visited Japan and South Korea to advocate for the Alaska LNG Project. In Tokyo, Sen. Sullivan and Ambassador Emanuel convened an Alaska LNG Summit of U.S. and Japanese energy and policy leaders. Prior to the summit, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo established an Alaska LNG Task Force.
• In June 2022, Sen. Sullivan and Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) met with Japanese companies, utilities, and government ministries about the Alaska LNG Project.
• In August 2021, Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan secured a provision in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act making the Alaska LNG Project eligible for a federal loan guarantee of roughly $30 billion that is indexed to inflation.
• In August 2020, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a final, unconditional order authorizing the Alaska LNG Project to export LNG.
• In May 2020, FERC granted the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) authorization to construct and operate the Alaska LNG Project.
• Between 2014 and 2022, the Alaska LNG Project secured all of its necessary federal permits and authorizations.

The Alaska LNG Project is projected to create up to 10,000 construction and 1,000 operations jobs.

# # #

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.