Steelmaker Posco Aims to Expand LNG Business Amid More US Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Posco Holdings Inc., which owns South Korea’s top steelmaker, will expand its liquefied natural gas businesses in a bid to benefit from the rapidly growing market and President Donald Trump’s strategy of boosting US exports.

Units of Posco will focus on strengthening their LNG supply chain — from production to storage, transportation and power generation — in order to capitalize on Trump’s decision to lift a Biden-era moratorium on new US LNG export licenses, the company said in a statement Monday.

The Korean government is trying to negotiate with the Trump administration to minimize the impact of US tariffs on key sectors, including steel, autos and semiconductors. As part of this effort, the Asian nation is looking to increase imports of American oil and gas to help reduce its trade surplus with the US.

Posco Holdings is shifting its focus toward energy infrastructure as it grapples with an oversupply of steel and sluggish growth, it said. While strengthening its energy operations, the group aims to leverage its steel technology by building high-manganese LNG storage tanks as it expands capacities at its export terminal in Gwangyang, the company said.

Shell Plc expects LNG consumption to surge by about 60% into 2040, according to an outlook published last week. That’s a more bullish view than last year’s estimate of about 50% and a prediction that global gas demand would peak that decade.

Posco International Corp. operates LNG-fueled power plants with a combined capacity of 3.4 gigawatts in South Korea, and will have 1.33 million kiloliters of LNG storage capacity once its import terminal expansion is completed in 2026.

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