Published on •Updated
US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday plans for $200bn (€176bn) in South Korean investments in US energy projects, including $54bn (€47.6bn) for a long-planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska that Seoul said it had not yet agreed to invest in.
South Korea had previously agreed to invest $350bn (€308bn) in the United States and increase purchases of US energy under a July 2025 trade deal with Trump that set 15% tariffs on imports from the East Asian nation.
Besides the Alaska LNG project and pipeline, the Trump administration announced a $22.3bn (€19.6bn) gas-fired power plant in Texas that would be backed by South Korea.
“The United States and Korea have agreed to commence working together on the 50 Billion Dollar ALASKA LNG PROJECT,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Thursday, Seoul time.
“A huge 22 Billion Dollar, 6.4-gigawatt Natural Gas Fired Power Project in Encinal, Texas. This will bring tremendous new, reliable Power Capacity to Texas,” he added.
The facility in Texas will have a generating capacity of 6,472 megawatts and supply electricity to data centres also located in Encinal, a US Commerce Department statement said. It is expected to be fully operational by 2032.
Seoul confirmed Thursday that both sides intended to “proceed with a $22.3 billion natural gas power facility” in Texas, dedicated to “supplying power to co-located data centers.”
Seoul sets conditions for investment
As for the Alaska LNG project, President Lee Jae Myung also said on Thursday that Seoul would begin working on it provided it was commercially viable and complied with South Korea’s legal procedures.
“No decision has been made regarding whether to invest in the project or the scale of any potential investment,” South Korea’s trade ministry said in a statement.
Lee said last month that negotiations on the projects had been “very complex and difficult,” adding he had found some terms “difficult to accept” without elaborating further.
Beyond the Alaska and Texas projects, Trump said the two countries were “moving forward” with a $120bn (€105.7bn) nuclear power programme to build eight large-scale reactors in the United States.
The figure includes $100bn (€88.1bn) for construction costs and $20bn (€17.6bn) in contingency reserves, the US Commerce Department said.
However, Lee said on Thursday that the nuclear power project would likewise depend on the “commercial viability” of each individual reactor.
The projects in the US will be “pursued in a manner that serves the national interest,” South Korea’s trade ministry said.
Alaska pipeline and workforce challenges
The Alaska project, led by New York- and Houston-based developer Glenfarne Group, would include an 800-mile (1,300-kilometre) pipeline carrying gas from Alaska’s North Slope to a liquefaction facility near Anchorage for export to Asia.
While Alaska has produced oil for decades, environmental concerns have historically constrained some developments.
But the Trump administration has largely brushed aside those concerns, cancelling regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which drive global warming.
The expansion of US energy infrastructure envisioned by Trump faces a potential labour shortfall, experts say.
The United States needs to fill an estimated 1.7 million skilled-trade vacancies each year through 2035, according to a report released Wednesday by the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades, an organisation comprising Ford, Blackstone, Nvidia and other large companies.
The report found that current training programmes produce just 55 workers for every 100 needed.