President Donald Trump could announce plans as soon as Wednesday to deploy roughly $54 billion of South Korea's strategic investment pledge into an Alaska liquefied natural gas export project — the first U.S. LNG facility with direct ship access to Asia, two sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.

What is the Alaska LNG project?

The proposed facility would move North Slope natural gas through a pipeline to a liquefaction plant on Alaska's southern coast, where LNG carriers would load for Japan, South Korea and other Asian buyers. Glenfarne, the project developer, said in March it had lined up offtake commitments for 13 million metric tons a year. Final financial close requires another 3 million tons converted from preliminary to binding agreements.

Where does South Korea fit?

The $54 billion sits inside a $350 billion strategic investment package Seoul committed under last year's bilateral trade deal. South Korean and U.S. officials have also discussed a gas-fired power project in Texas and nuclear power cooperation as candidate investments. South Korea's industry ministry briefed members of parliament on the U.S. proposals last week.

Who is already lined up to take the cargo?

• JERA and Tokyo Gas, Japan's two largest LNG importers, hold preliminary offtake for a combined 2 million metric tons a year.
• Glenfarne's total offtake pipeline reaches 13 million tons a year, with another 3 million tons required in binding form to trigger financing.

South Korean opposition lawmaker Kim Sung-wan, who chairs the National Assembly's trade committee, told Reuters the U.S. investments should be "structured in a mutually beneficial way that creates opportunities for South Korean companies, expand markets, and secures stable energy supply chains."

Kim said parliament would examine profitability, fiscal risks and tangible benefits for Korean firms before signing off. A Seoul-based analyst was sharper, calling the projects "unbelievably unfair" because South Korea would shoulder the investment while the United States captures a share of the upside.

How does the announcement fit the political calendar?

Trump's expected rollout lands days before November's midterm elections. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month put his approval at 32%, the lowest of his political career, with voters citing high gasoline prices and the Iran war. Republicans view Alaska as a battleground for control of the U.S. Senate, where incumbent Dan Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola in a race rated a toss-up.

What it means for shippers and carriers

A built-out Alaska LNG terminal would add roughly 16 million metric tons a year of new capacity into the trans-Pacific LNG lane, anchored on an Alaska loading berth rather than U.S. Gulf Coast loadouts that today move east-bound through the Panama Canal.

The project has faced years of uncertainty over cost, financing and commercial viability, including government-level reviews in both Seoul and Tokyo. Korean construction contractors, Asian LNG importers and U.S. equity markets carry the most direct exposure to the final terms. Glenfarne declined to comment Wednesday, and South Korea's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond.

Whether Seoul's parliament approves the financial structure, and whether Glenfarne can flip the remaining 3 million tons of offtake from letter-of-intent to binding contract, will determine whether Asia's first dedicated U.S. LNG supply lane reaches final investment decision at all.