Taiwan to Hike U.S. LNG Imports After Reaching Trade Deal

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After striking a trade and investment deal with the United States last month, Taiwan plans to hike imports of U.S. LNG this year to have American gas account for about a third of its supply.

“We plan to increase purchases of natural gas from the U.S. to 30%-33% this year from about 10% now,” Fang Jeng-zen, chairman of Taiwan’s state-held oil and gas company CPC Corporation, told reporters on Thursday, as carried by Reuters.

Taiwan wants to buy more gas from the U.S. and will reduce imports from other suppliers, said the Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin.

The economy ministry is in charge of the country’s energy policy.

Last year, Taiwan’s CPC signed a letter of intent to invest in the Alaska LNG export project and buy LNG from it, as part of a move to bolster its gas supply and energy security. The Trump Administration is strongly supporting the $44-billion Alaska LNG project, and officials last year spent a lot of time pitching the project to potential Asian investors and LNG offtakers. 

Last month, Glenfarne Group, the majority owner and developer of the Alaska LNG Project, announced a series of major advances that move Phase One of the project from development into early execution. Phase One consists of a 739-mile pipeline to deliver natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope to meet Alaska’s domestic energy needs. Glenfarne is targeting mechanical completion of the pipeline in 2028 and delivery of first gas in 2029. Phase Two will add the LNG liquefaction terminal and related infrastructure to export 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG.

Also last month, Taiwan and the U.S. reached a trade and investment deal, which reduces U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese products to a maximum of 15%, with tariff exemptions in several industries, including for Taiwanese semiconductor companies investing in the U.S.

The U.S. Commerce Department said that Taiwan will provide credit guarantees of at least $250 billion to facilitate additional investment by Taiwanese enterprises, “supporting the establishment and expansion of the full semiconductor supply chain and ecosystem in the United States.”

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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