Taiwan's CPC denies 'specific' US shale gas acquisition talks
CPC is in early stage discussions to buy shale-gas producing assets in the United States, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month, in a bid to secure natural gas supplies to fuel Taiwan's economy.
In a statement late on Monday, CPC said U.S. shale gas has long been an important target area for the company because of its high quality, mature extraction technology and favourable investment environment.
"CPC will not rule out any prospective partners and will make the most favourable decision based on the evaluation results," it said.
"As for reports that CPC is in the process of discussing the acquisition of specific shale gas fields in the United States, that is not true," the company added, without elaboration.
Taiwan has pledged to increase its purchase of energy from the United States as a way of reducing its yawning trade surplus and head off tariffs.
In March, CPC signed an agreement with Alaska Gasline Development Corp to buy LNG and invest in the Alaska LNG project which will transport gas south from Alaska's remote north via pipeline, to be shipped as LNG to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
19 minutes ago
- Straits Times
'I won't humiliate myself': Brazil's president sees no point in tariff talks with Trump
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA - As U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods jumped to 50% on Wednesday, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters in an interview that he saw no room for direct talks now with U.S. President Donald Trump that would likely be a "humiliation." Brazil is not about to announce reciprocal tariffs, he said. Nor will his government give up on cabinet-level talks. But Lula himself is in no rush to ring the White House. "The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him," Lula said in an interview from his presidential residence in Brasilia. "But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I won't humiliate myself." Despite Brazil's exports facing one of the highest tariffs imposed by Trump, the new U.S. trade barriers look unlikely to derail Latin America's largest economy, giving Lula more room to stand his ground against Trump than most Western leaders. Lula described U.S.-Brazil relations at a 200-year nadir after Trump tied the new tariff to his demands for an end to the prosecution of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial for plotting to overturn the 2022 election. The president said Brazil's Supreme Court, which is hearing the case against Bolsonaro, "does not care what Trump says and it should not," adding that Bolsonaro should face another trial for provoking Trump's intervention, calling the right-wing former president a "traitor to the homeland." "We had already pardoned the U.S. intervention in the 1964 coup," said Lula, who got his political start as a union leader protesting against the military government that followed a U.S.-backed ouster of a democratically elected president. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore Three people taken to hospital after fire in Punggol executive condominium Singapore Elderly man found dead in SingPost Centre stairwell could have been in confused state: Coroner Singapore 81 primary schools to hold ballot for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Singapore Two workers died after being hit by flying gas cylinders in separate incidents in 2025 Sport Young Lions and distance runner Soh Rui Yong left out of SEA Games contingent "But this now is not a small intervention. It's the president of the United States thinking he can dictate rules for a sovereign country like Brazil. It's unacceptable." The Brazilian president said he had no personal issues with Trump, adding that they could meet at the United Nations next month or U.N. climate talks in November. But he noted Trump's track record of dressing down White House guests such as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "What Trump did with Zelenskiy was humiliation. That's not normal. What Trump did with Ramaphosa was humiliation," Lula said. "One president can't be humiliating another. I respect everyone and I demand respect." Lula said his ministers were struggling to open talks with U.S. peers, so his government was focused on domestic measures to cushion the economic blow of U.S. tariffs, while maintaining "fiscal responsibility." He also said he was planning to call leaders from the BRICS group of developing nations, starting with India and China, to discuss the possibility of a joint response to U.S. tariffs. Lula also described plans to create a new national policy for Brazil's strategic mineral resources, treating them as a matter of "national sovereignty" to break with a history of mining exports that added little value in Brazil. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Brazil's Lula says he will discuss Trump tariffs with BRICS group
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva looks on during an interview with Reuters at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva presented himself as a torchbearer for multilateralism in a fractured world in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, revealing plans to call the leaders of India and China to discuss a joint BRICS response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. "What President Trump is doing is tacit — he wants to dismantle multilateralism, where agreements are made collectively within institutions, and replace it with unilateralism, where he negotiates one-on-one with other countries," Lula said. "What bargaining power does a small Latin American country have against the United States? None." Lula said he will initiate a conversation at the BRICS group of developing nations about how to tackle Trump's tariffs. He said he planned to call Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, and China's Xi Jinping and other leaders after. The group also has Russia and other emerging economies among its members. "I'm going to try to discuss with them about how each one is doing in this situation, what the implications are for each country, so we can make a decision," he said. "It's important to remember that the BRICS have ten countries at the G20," he added, referring to the group that gathers 20 of the world's biggest economies. Lula stressed that Brazil now holds the presidency of the BRICS and said that he wants to discuss with allies why Trump is attacking multilateralism and what his goals may be. Trump called the BRICS "anti-American" and threatened the bloc's nations with additional 10% tariffs last month, while the group gathered in a summit in Rio de Janeiro. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump plans to meet with Putin as soon as next week, New York Times reports
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the plan. Trump then plans to meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the newspaper reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders on Wednesday. The White House did not immediately respond to the report but earlier on Wednesday Trump acknowledged that he spoke with European leaders after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's "highly productive" meeting with Putin in Russia. While noting that "great progress" was made during the meeting, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come." Trump, who promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine on "day one" during his presidential campaign, has held several phone calls with Putin and has met with Zelenskiy since returning to the White House in January. However, in recent weeks, he has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow over a lack of progress towards ending the three-year conflict. REUTERS
