FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, literally tore up a list of 70 orders former President Joe Biden enacted that he said stymied the Last Frontier’s energy capabilities, and spoke Thursday about a bright future for the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Sullivan described the Trump administration’s openness to building an 800-mile LNG pipeline to power the U.S. and trade with Asia.
The pipeline would run from Prudhoe Bay – on the Arctic Ocean – to the Kenai Peninsula near Homer. Currently, essentially the only way to transport liquefied natural gas on the North Slope is via the AK-11 Dalton Highway of “Ice Road Trucker” fame, which is considered very inefficient and dangerous.
“This is a huge project, very geostrategically important — and, of course, it’s important to Alaskans to get us the gas we need… but also to get our allies: [South] Korea, Japan, Taiwan, energy that they need.”
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Sullivan said Japan is still buying oil and gas from Russia – while a source familiar with the pipeline plans noted an Alaska-to-Asia trade route does not include any diplomatic or geographic pinch points like those that exist in the Mideast and elsewhere.
“Korea and Taiwan are getting their LNG from Qatar. None of that makes sense. Alaska is really close – We were the first place anywhere in the world to start exporting LNG in the late 1960s,” he said. “We did that to Japan for over 50 years.”
In his Joint Address to Congress, President Donald Trump flagged the pipeline plan, saying he is working on a “gigantic” project in Alaska.
Amid tariff and trade news, Sullivan said building the pipeline and supplying both North America and Asia with LNG obtained through the U.S.’ environmentally conscious means could reduce the West-to-East trade deficit by up to $10 billion per year.
Plus, the pipeline itself could “revitalize” the domestic steel industry and employ thousands of Americans.
He also sought to dispel a “fallacy” often touted on the left, that Native communities in and around the LNG territory are opposed to such development.
“Most of the media gets it wrong,” he said.
“The Alaska Native people … want this resource development done. This is how you help them with regard, not only to their economy, but their health, their pride, right? The best social program in the world is a good job.”
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Instead, he said, the Biden administration fought Juneau’s efforts to expand its energy production at every turn.
“Eight times [the Biden Interior Department] told [Natives visiting Washington] to go pound sand. They would never meet with them to develop their resources.”
When it comes to politicians in other states allegedly trying to dictate energy policy in Alaska, whether on environmental or other grounds, Sullivan quipped, “we don’t appreciate the lower 48 radical environmentalists coming up telling us what to do. And I really don’t appreciate what my Senate colleagues who try to do that, too.”
“You may have seen I gave a speech last week on the Senate floor ripping the hell out of one of them just because he needed it, right.”
As for talks with Trump, he said Secretaries Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick and Doug Burgum have been very open and supportive.
Procuring financing is the next major battle, along with reciprocal trade agreements with target countries.
“Then you can finance these projects and start to build them. We’re talking about laying pipe as early as the end of this year or the beginning of next year. And think about the jobs that would come with that.”
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Turning to Biden, Sullivan held up a sheet listing 70 executive orders and actions the administration took to “shut [Alaska] down.”
“The left-wing media never cries about the jobs that were killed by Biden: Good union jobs; 70 EOs. The good news is this is now history,” he said, ripping up the list of orders and presenting instead a singular Trump order seeking to advance Alaska’s comprehensive LNG project.
The project is the only West Coast venture to secure federal permits and $26 million in loan guarantees. It would utilize more than 500,000 tons of steel and 5 million cubic yards of concrete.
In remarks to Fox News Digital, Energy Department spokesman Ben Dietderich said Alaskan LNG “has massive potential.”
“Accessing over 100 trillion cubic feet of North Slope natural gas will provide enormous energy security to the United States and its allies, thousands of high-paying jobs, and is estimated to reduce the United States trade deficit by $10 billion annually,” Dietderich said.
“While the previous administration openly discouraged investment in American LNG, President Trump and Secretary Wright are committed to expanding American energy at home and abroad.”
“Potential large scale investments and partnerships in U.S. LNG projects, including Alaska LNG, were discussed in the Secretary’s meetings with UAE officials yesterday and the Secretary intends to also raise these in Saudi Arabia in the coming days as well.”
