TOKYO: Asian countries are increasingly looking to the United States as an energy supplier to reduce their dependence on the Middle East amid regional instability and supply chain concerns, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin says.
Speaking from Tokyo at an energy forum, Zeldin pointed to the more than US$50bil worth of deals that US companies had secured in the past 48 hours as countries in the region hurriedly seek to diversify away from the Gulf, where supplies have been disrupted by the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.
Indo-Pacific countries are “far more motivated” about wanting to diversify their supply chain, Zeldin said in an interview on Bloomberg This Weekend.
He emphasised the logistical advantages of US energy exports, noting that shipping from Alaska would take approximately eight days compared with 28 days from the Middle East.
When questioned about potential concerns from Asian nations regarding the reliability of US energy supplies given changing tariff policies, Zeldin said that countries in the region are “gravitating towards the United States” despite such considerations.
He added that energy ministers from various countries were engaged in “robust, energetic, motivated conversation” to establish energy partnerships with the United States.
Separately, Zeldin said that nuclear energy projects across the United States are being implemented “extraordinarily competently” despite the Trump administration’s directive to accelerate permitting.
“At no point since I was sworn in as administrator 14 months ago with any nuclear project that I have seen anywhere inside the United States have I seen anything but the highest level of competency,” he said.
The Environmental Protection Agency is taking a prominent role at the Indo‑Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo, where senior US officials are meeting counterparts from across the region to deepen cooperation on energy security and supply‑chain resilience. — Bloomberg
