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Secretary Wright on Fox Business: Japan Energy Partnership and Alaska LNG Advance U.S. Exports

February 7, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:03:25

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox Business’ Liz Claman that Japan has been a fantastic ally for decades and a major energy importer, while the United States is now a huge energy exporter, making an expanded energy partnership a win for both countries that shrinks the U.S. trade deficit, according to the interview. He discussed Japanese interest in a joint venture for Alaskan oil and natural gas, saying the interest had been around but Japanese partners were burned when terminals they invested in were delayed during the last administration, and that eye-to-eye contact with President Trump convinced them he is serious, as stated in his remarks.

Asked what large exports to Japan would mean for U.S. consumers, Wright said the surprising answer is lower costs at home: fifteen years ago the United States was the world’s biggest natural gas importer with high prices, and now, as the largest net exporter, prices have gone down as production and infrastructure scaled, according to the interview. He said the extra gas for Japan is quite small relative to total U.S. production, as stated in his remarks.

Wright also said the Department of Energy ended the prior administration’s LNG export pause on January 21 and that the approval process is moving right now, with announcements of new approvals for expanded export capacity expected within days or weeks at most, according to the interview.

Why it matters

The Claman interview, from the first weeks of the term, is the earliest public statement of the export strategy Wright later carried to Europe and the Middle East — LNG approvals unpaused, Alaska supply aimed at Japan, and exports framed as price relief rather than price pressure at home.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright joins FOX Business’s Liz Claman - February 7th, 2025”, 2025-02-07 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-02-07). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.