The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has asked CPC Corp, Taiwan (中油) to purchase more US natural gas in a gesture of goodwill toward US President Donald Trump’s administration to improve Taiwan-US trade ties.
Taiwan runs a large trade surplus with the US, which surged 83 percent last year, with the nation’s exports to the US hitting a record US$111.4 billion, driven by demand for high-tech products such as semiconductors.
Of the 24 items Taiwan imports from the US, crude oil is the most valuable, at US$6.65 billion, the ministry said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
Taiwan last year imported more than 2 million tonnes of natural gas from the US, ranked sixth among other US products imported, with an estimated value of US$1.14 billion, it said.
Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) last year urged the government to increase its purchases of US energy, agriculture and military products to balance US-Taiwan trade.
CPC yesterday said the US has been the most prominent international exporter of natural gas since 2023, and the Trump administration is expected to expand natural gas and crude oil production.
The company has been in talks with an Alaska-based natural gas developer since 2018, adding that the developer has found a new investor, which could could expedite the development process.
The route from Alaska to Taiwan would only take 10 to 11 days, faster than being delivered through the Suez Canal, CPC said, adding that it had negotiated insurance and freight prices, and other costs, which sweetened the deal.
However, the investment might not be closed for another one to two years, CPC said.
The company has three long-term deals with the US, each valid for up to 20 to 25 years, it said, adding that the agreements were intended to diversify its natural gas sources, reduce prices and as “more or less an effort to show our sincerity” to the US on decreasing the trade deficit.
The route from Alaska to Taiwan has also interested South Korean and the Japanese officials, the ministry said.
Japan was the first in the region to purchase natural gas from the US, and Taiwan continues increasing its storage capacity, it said.
CPC said it is increasing the amount of US crude it purchases, as it had lower sulfur content than that produced in the Middle East, adding that an explosion at the company’s Kaohsiung-based Dalin Refinery (大林煉油廠) has limited the company’s desulfurization capabilities.
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said Taiwan could follow Japan’s example and import more US energy.
“In regards to Japan, he [Trump] has great determination when it comes to energy,” Kuo said. “We hope we can satisfy US demands when it comes to this.”
After talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Washington on Friday, Trump said that Japan would begin importing a record amount of US liquefied natural gas.
Australia and Qatar are currently Taiwan’s leading suppliers of liquefied natural gas.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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