Trump says Japan, US to form LNG joint venture

By Yuka Obayashi and Katya Golubkova

TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Japan will form a joint venture to develop a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska though a Japanese government official said he was not aware of such plans.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring specifically to the proposed $44 billion Alaska LNG project. That project would consist of an 800-mile (1,300-km) pipeline carrying gas to a planned liquefaction plant for export.

Trump's announcement of the venture came in comments to lawmakers at the White House where he discussed his trade deal with Japan.

"We concluded the one deal ... and now we're going to conclude another one because they're forming a joint venture with us at, in Alaska, as you know, for the LNG," Trump told the lawmakers. "They're all set to make that deal now."

The METI official, who oversees resource development, said the agency is working to confirm Trump's comments.

Several companies from Japan have expressed an interest in buying LNG from the project, along with Thailand's PTT and India's GAIL.

JERA and Tokyo Gas 9531.T, Japan's two biggest LNG buyers, have expressed their interest in the Alaska LNG project but said they would need to assess specific conditions, including costs, before moving forward.

But when asked about the joint venture mentioned by Trump, a JERA spokesperson said they could not confirm it.

A Tokyo Gas spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company is not involved in a joint venture for LNG in Alaska and is not familiar with the details.