Asia seeks US energy supplies amid Middle East instability

2026-03-15 - 14:34

Shipping of US energy from Alaska takes eight days, compared with 28 from the Middle East. (EPA Images pic) NEW YORK: Asian countries are increasingly looking to the US 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 said. Speaking from Tokyo at an energy forum, Zeldin pointed to the more than US$50 billion worth of deals that US companies had secured in the past 48 hours as countries in the region 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 US” despite such considerations. He added that energy ministers from various countries were engaged in “robust, energetic, motivated conversation” to establish energy partnerships with the US. Separately, Zeldin said that nuclear energy projects across the US 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 US have I seen anything but the highest level of competency,” he said.