Seoul buys more natural gas from the US after summit with Trump

South Korea agreed Tuesday to buy an additional 3.3 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually from the United States starting in 2028, following a summit in Washington between the presidents of the two countries.

The agreement was signed by Korea Gas (KOGAS) with global suppliers, including Singapore's Trafigura, during a meeting of business leaders in the US capital , which followed a meeting between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

The volume, agreed for the period 2028-2038, will be supplied from gas projects operated by the US company Cheniere in Texas, in the south-central United States, and other areas, according to details of the agreement, released by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The deal follows South Korea's commitment last month to buy $100 billion (€86 million) worth of energy products from the US over the next four years, as part of a trade pact reached by Seoul and Washington to reduce tariffs on US imports of South Korean products from 25% to 15% .

KOGAS said the new long-term contract was signed as part of a tender process, which began in 2024, for energy imports from South Korea after 2028.

The contract will help KOGAS diversify its import sources, which are currently concentrated in the Middle East.

KOGAS CEO Choi Yeon-hye told Yonhap that the new contract will help stabilize supply and improve price competitiveness .

South Korea is one of the powers that, along with Japan, Indonesia, and Pakistan, have committed to increasing purchases or investments in American energy companies and projects, a key element that the United States has been promoting in negotiations with its trading partners.