President Donald Trump speaks about the proposed Alaska LNG project at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

President Donald Trump said on social media last week that the Alaska LNG megaproject is now “a U.S. Federal Government Project.”

Exactly what that means — and how it may or may not affect the project — is to be determined.

Capital funding for the project, if it actually materializes, would be part of the U.S. Investment Accelerator program created last year by Trump to deliver investments to large projects, according to a nonbinding agreement between South Korea and the U.S.

Under the program, some of the funding for Alaska LNG could come from foreign entities, but it’s also possible that the federal government could take an ownership stake in the project, people familiar with the effort say.

They say the state’s Alaska Gasline Development Corp. will retain its 25% stake in the project. But it’s possible that the current majority ownership, held by private entity Glenfarne at 75%, could be reduced or eliminated entirely, though the company would remain as developer.

Trump in recent weeks has claimed that South Korea will invest some $50 billion into the project, while Taiwan will invest the remaining $4.5 billion. Trump has said the investments, which would fully cover the anticipated project costs, are part of trade negotiations.

But leaders from South Korea and Taiwan have issued statements saying that they are reviewing the project for potential investment. Neither has finalized any investment plans.

Critics of the GOP have said Trump’s announcements are a campaign ploy to help Sullivan, a Republican facing a tight race against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former U.S. House lawmaker, in a contest that could help determine control of the U.S. Senate.

Trump, who visited Alaska last week to stump for Sullivan, has made Alaska LNG a focal point of his effort to get Sullivan reelected in the general election on Nov. 3.

Sullivan, in an interview with reporters Thursday night, maintained his assertion that the two countries will ultimately invest in the project.

But he acknowledged that South Korea’s investment is subject to the project’s “commercial reasonableness.”

Meanwhile, there’s also no binding agreement with Taiwan related to the project.

Sullivan asserted that an agreement for gas purchases by Taiwan will soon be completed, resulting in “real money” from that country.

Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks with reporters following the Debate for the State at the Alaska Public Media studio in Anchorage on Thursday, Oct. 15. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Sullivan said that earlier this year, as the Alaska Legislature wasn’t able to pass a multibillion-dollar property tax break for the project, he had been working on “a Plan B to get the federal government at the highest levels to take the lead” on Alaska LNG.

“And now they are doing that,” he said.

Asked whether or not the federal government will take an ownership stake in the project, Sullivan said, “They’re negotiating all that now.”

“They’re negotiating, as I understand it, with AGDC, with Glenfarne,” he said.

Sullivan said that “the stakeholder structure in the equity component, I believe, is being negotiated as we speak.”

The U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees the investment accelerator program, did not respond to a request for comment, including if the federal government will buy a stake in the project.

Glenfarne on federal involvement

Alaska leaders, and many residents, have wanted to see the gas line project or similar versions of it built for generations.

But nothing has ever been built.

The plan calls for tapping vast reserves of natural gas on the North Slope, delivering it to Alaskans in a first phase, then exporting it as liquefied natural gas, or LNG, overseas.

A lack of investors and buyers, and the huge costs, have prevented construction.

Glenfarne says Alaska LNG could cost up to $55 billion.

Governor Mike Dunleavy and Brendan Duval, CEO and founder of Glenfarne Group LLC, talked about construction of an Alaska LNG pipeline during the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage on June 5, 2025. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Glenfarne, for its part, has missed deadlines for a final investment decision to greenlight the project. That decision, originally proposed for last year, has still not been made.

Becky Windt Pearson, head of Alaska legal and corporate affairs for Glenfarne, spoke last week about the federal government’s evolving role in the project.

She also talked about Glenfarne’s plans to continue pursuing a multibillion-dollar property tax break from the Alaska Legislature, at least under the existing ownership structure.

During a project update at the Alaska Chamber’s Business Summit, she said Trump and his team have selected Alaska LNG as a participant in the investment accelerator program.

The selection followed conversations that have occurred over the past few months, between the company and the federal agency, about Alaska LNG’s participation in the program, she said.

Now, many people want to know what that means for Alaska LNG, and what comes next, she said.

Next steps involve working with the government to finalize the investment structure and close the transaction, she said.

Becky Windt Pearson, photographed in downtown Anchorage on Feb. 4. (Bill Roth / ADN archive)

Other projects in the investment accelerator program have undergone changes to their equity, potentially involving ownership by the U.S government or foreign investors, she said.

“We don’t know at this point exactly what that’s going to look like for our budget,” Windt Pearson said.

“We’re in the structuring phase right now, ascertaining exactly what does it look like,” she said. “What stake, if any, does the U.S. federal government take in the project? How is the investment structure built out, and how do we reach final documentation so that we can move from here toward the critical steps of signing transaction close and project execution?”

She said the project, under current circumstances, is still looking at securing a property tax break from the state.

Consultants and Glenfarne have said the tax break is necessary in part to reduce high costs early in the project’s life when revenue is limited.

Alaska LNG is proposed for construction in two phases, first as an 800-mile gas pipeline that would deliver gas to Alaskans, then with a second-phase, larger buildout that would also deliver gas to Asia and produce much more revenue.

“If the ownership structure and the tax treatment of the project remains the same, we absolutely do need to continue our efforts on a tax bill,” she said.

“The upshot being really that our current property tax structure overburdens the project during the initial phases before full operation,” she said. “That it creates an untenable investment (situation) for the project and also renders untenable gas prices for end consumers, particularly for natural gas users in the state of Alaska during the phase one period.”

Windt Pearson also said that the federal government entering the picture adds a “new wrinkle” to things.

Tim Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson with Glenfarne, said in a prepared statement: “As a new structure reflecting federal participation in Alaska LNG is developed, Glenfarne and AGDC will keep state policymakers informed.”

People listen as President Donald Trump speaks about the proposed Alaska LNG project at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Frank Richards, head of the state’s Alaska Gasline Development Corp., said the state will maintain its 25% equity stake in the project.

Brad Keithley, a former oil and gas attorney and longtime industry observer in Alaska, said that if Alaska LNG becomes federally owned, that portion of the project would not be subject to state and local property taxes.

That raises the question, he said, whether Congress would provide a payment in lieu of taxes, often called a PILT, to help pay for the impact to local communities from the project.

Keithley said the timing of the announcements is “convenient to the Sullivan campaign.”

But he said federal ownership, if that happens, could help meaningfully advance the project.

“There’s enough substance that they can do here that it’s not just political theater,” he said.

Larry Persily, a former Alaska gas line coordinator under President Barack Obama for an earlier iteration of the project, said it remains to be seen if the federal government’s involvement will help move construction forward.

“Getting on a list of favored federal projects is like getting a gold star to take home to give your mom to put on a fridge,” he said. “It’s certainly a proud moment for the family. But it’s not the same as saying, ‘OK, the feds are going to take an X percent equity interest, and here’s the money.’”

“Getting a check from the federal treasury helps a lot,” he said.

What will happen remains to be seen, Persily said.

“Without details, it’s hard to know. Is this just another step in the publicity campaign, or will this really represent real dollars?” said Persily, whose varied government career includes being a senior policy adviser for Peltola in 2022, and working on Alaska gas line issues under Republican former Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski in the early 2000s.