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The Philippines plans to import liquefied natural gas from a long-delayed Alaska project to meet growing energy needs, even as the future of the proposed facility remains unclear.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. intends to discuss the matter and other opportunities to cooperate when he meets American counterpart Donald Trump at the “soonest possible time,” Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said on X late Friday.
The Alaska LNG export project — proposed in various forms for decades — has struggled to secure binding long-term contracts and investments. Unlike similar facilities on the US Gulf Coast, this one would be massive in scale, requiring the construction of an 800-mile pipeline across the state.
Trump used a Jan. 20 executive order to make clear it’s now US policy to “prioritize the development of Alaska’s liquefied natural gas potential, including the sale and transportation” of the fuel to nations in the Pacific region.
While it isn’t clear if or when the Alaska project will come to fruition, governments are pledging support to the facility to appease Trump — while avoiding making binding commitments. The US and Japan discussed a pipeline project in Alaska after Trump met Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba this month.
Marcos in January signed a law to establish a downstream natural gas industry and increase the fuel’s share in the Philippines’ energy mix, which is currently dominated by coal. The leader has said he wants to meet with Trump to discuss trade and defense ties.
The Southeast Asian nation began importing LNG in 2023 as its key Malampaya gas field — which supplies a fifth of the country’s power requirements — nears depletion.
Tokyo Gas Co., Japan’s biggest gas utility, earlier this week said it will acquire a 20% stake in the Philippines’ FGEN LNG Corp., which owns a floating LNG facility in Batangas City, south of the capital.
--With assistance from Stephen Stapczynski.
(Updates with executive order in fourth paragraph.)
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