The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently selected a consortium of Samil PwC and Kim & Chang to advise on the Louisiana LNG project, part of the Korea-U.S. strategic investment package agreed last year.
Industry watchers say the Louisiana LNG project reflects Washington’s broader push to increase LNG exports, particularly as demand for non-Russian energy has grown in Europe following the war in Ukraine and Asian demand for alternative supplies has risen amid instability around the Strait of Hormuz.
The project involves building export infrastructure to liquefy and ship natural gas produced along the U.S. Gulf Coast to markets in Europe and Asia.
For South Korea, however, the key issue will be whether the investment can generate tangible benefits for Korean companies, rather than simply meeting U.S. demands.
Seoul is expected to seek conditions that allow Korean firms to participate in construction, supply steel and equipment, and secure stable access to U.S. LNG.
The move comes as Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan departed for North America on Tuesday for a four-day trip focused on advancing investment talks with the U.S. and strengthening industrial cooperation with Canada.
Kim arrived in Washington on Thursday after visiting Ottawa, where he sought Canadian support for Korean companies bidding for the country’s submarine procurement project. He said the U.S. Trade Representative’s ongoing Section 301 investigation into countries including South Korea and Japan appeared to be aimed at restoring the 15 percent reciprocal tariff that had been ruled unlawful.
“I understand the purpose of the investigation is to restore the 15 percent tariff,” Kim said. “Any U.S. measures following the investigation are likely to remain within that scope, and we will make every effort to ensure that they do.”
Kim also pushed back against concerns that South Korea was moving slower than Japan in implementing its U.S. investment package.
“Specific projects cannot be realized simply by announcing them. They need to be carried out in concrete terms,” he said.
Asked about the Louisiana LNG project, Kim stopped short of confirming it as the first investment.
“It is true that the Louisiana project was among the projects being reviewed,” Kim said. “But we are not yet at a stage where we can say whether it will become the first project.”
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