South Korea on $54B for Alaska gasline: ‘we will not proceed unless the project is commercially viable’

Trump touts Sen. Sullivan while claiming investment in long-proposed pipeline as done deal, while foreign media describes ‘Seoul's possible participation in Alaska LNG project’

President Donald Trump and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy shake hands during an announcement in the Oval Office involving potential South Korean investments in a natural gas pipeline in Alaska and projects in other states on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Screenshot from official White House video)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

A claim South Korea is investing $54 billion in a long-proposed natural gas pipeline in Alaska was announced as a done deal Wednesday by President Donald Trump — crediting Sen. Dan Sullivan in the process as he faces a tight reelection campaign. But South Korea officials say it’s still merely a possibility based on a trade agreement reached last year.

That trade deal included South Korea pledging $350 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs on South Korean cars and other products. The projects announced Wednesday included $22.3 billion for a Texas gas-fired power complex, up to $120 billion for eight nuclear reactors nationwide and "a review of an LNG project in Alaska," according to The Korea Herald.

Trump, during an Oval Office ceremony Wednesday, called the Alaska LNG Project "one of the largest energy projects in American history and a gigantic win for the people of Alaska." He also repeatedly praised Sullivan, who is in a toss-up race against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola that could determine control of the U.S. during the last two years of Trump’s second term.

"He's been working on this deal and other deals in Alaska, the pipeline, for almost 20 years and we're now getting it done," Trump said. "And so I want to thank in particular Dan Sullivan for getting this deal done."

Also attending Wednesday’s ceremony were Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Rep. Nick Begich III, both Republicans who have strongly supported Trump. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has often criticized Trump, was not present.

Peltola, a U.S. House member from 2022 to 2024, issued a statement Wednesday calling the announcement "great news for Alaska" and declaring "I will continue to champion the Alaska LNG project in the United States Senate."

Skepticism about Trump’s announcement was expressed by Alaska State Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, who said in an interview "I thought the announcement was devoid of any actual information."

"There was a statement that South Korea was going to invest $54 billion into AKLNG, but I didn't hear from South Korea at that press conference," she said. "That's who I'd like to hear from."

South Korea Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, who detailed the three projects to the National Assembly on Sept. 22, said in a press briefing afterward the Alaska gasline "has a weaker commercial case” than the other two, according to The Korea Herald’s report. But the newspaper noted he said "from a strategic perspective, we need to examine it because South Korea’s gas supply routes are highly vulnerable.”

“We have agreed with the United States that we will not proceed unless the project is commercially viable,” the industry minister said, according to the newspaper.

The gasline was a dominant issue during the past legislative session — which was extended for three special sessions during the summer as Dunleavy sought to pass a bill incentivizing the project before his second term ends in December. State lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement due to unresolved issues about the project's costs and who would pay for them, as well as its benefits and who would receive them.

The project’s primary developer, Glenfarne Group LLC, stated during this year’s sessions the gasline project will cost $44.5 billion to $54.5 billion, although the state Department of Revenue told legislators that cost overruns could result in a price tag exceeding $90 billion. The company’s hope was to get the project online by 2029, with production extending beyond 2060, but in a statement after Dunleavy’s final bill fell flat, Glenfarne declared the cost and target date will be adversely affected.

Glenfarne was seeking — and Dunleavy was advocating for — large tax breaks on the project to make it more economically viable for the company. Lawmakers opposing those breaks said part of their concern was they were not getting accurate information about the gasline’s potential cost — and if the state might get stuck paying much of the bill — as well as how much in profits the company might make.

The news agency Reuters noted Wednesday that "supply agreements secured so far are mostly non-binding, leading some industry participants to suggest this may reflect support for the Trump administration's efforts to ​advance Alaska LNG rather than firm commitments to purchase the project's LNG."

Giessel said if South Korea does indeed commit to a major investment in the Alaska LNG Project it will raise a multitude of questions in the Legislature since "we had a lot of concerns about foreign ownership of our pipeline," including who owns the gas produced.

"What does this mean for the cost of gas to Alaskans?" she said. "What does it mean for jobs for Alaskans? Is South Korea going to want their workforce to come over and build this? They're certainly going to want to have a lot of the manufacturing pieces, but we're interested in Alaska jobs."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.