U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that the United States is in talks with companies from countries including South Korea about potential participation in an Alaskan liquefied natural gas(LNG) project.

Wright said during a news briefing in New York on Wednesday that the U.S. is in discussion with multiple Asian firms, including those from South Korea and Japan.

The energy secretary said that he thinks the prospects for Alaskan LNG look quite strong and that the project should be under construction in the next 12 months.

Wright said that construction will take a few years but that the project's major advantage is the short shipping distance between Alaska and U.S. allies like Japan, adding that the gas produced will be no more expensive than gas from other LNG export terminals.

The project, estimated to cost 45 billion dollars in the early stages, involves the construction of a one-thousand-300-kilometer pipeline from Alaska's far north to the Gulf of Alaska and the export of LNG to Asia.