Tag: Japan

Links: Japan seeking more sources of LNG

Energy LNG Links

Post-earthquake Japan is said to be one of the main markets for liquified natural gas that will flow through the LNG terminals under construction and proposed for the port of Kitimat. Since the earthquake Japan has been making major purchases of LNG from both Qatar and Russia.

The Doha, Qatar-based, Gulf Times is reporting: Qatar LNG exports to Japan up

Qatar is about to overtake Indonesia as the third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas to Japan, which has been increasing LNG imports to generate electricity to offset capacity lost due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan, the world largest LNG buyer, imported 870,072 metric tonnes of LNG from Qatar in July, up 53% on year, finance ministry data showed yesterday.
During the same month, Japan imported 731,557 tonnes of LNG from Indonesia, down 36% from a year earlier, the data showed.
In the first seven months of this year, Japan bought 5.64mn tonnes of LNG from Qatar and 6.33mn tonnes from Indonesia, up 28% and down 15% from a year earlier, respectively.

At the same time, the industry (subscription only) Petroleum Economist newsletter, is reporting that shortages from Qatar is causing concern in the UK natural gas market, Qatar LNG outage rattles UK gas market

UK gas prices jumped over 10% this week after the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, Qatargas, said it would shut its facilities for rolling maintenance over the coming months. Last year, according to Cedigaz, the UK imported about 20% of the 93.8 billion cubic metres of gas it consumed in the form of LNG, making the country particularly vulnerable to global LNG supply issues.

Japan is still a heavy buyer of liquified natural gas in the spot market, the Platt’s newsletters report. Kyushu Electric secures four spot LNG cargoes over Oct-Nov

Japan’s Kyushu Electric has secured sufficient additional LNG requirements for autumn, with a total of around four spot LNG cargoes for October-November, a source close to the matter told Platts Tuesday.

Kyushu Electric’s additional LNG volumes this autumn could reach 240,000-260,000 mt, assuming that the purchased volumes are the standard 60,000-65,000 mt LNG cargoes, according to Platts calculations.

Japan Quake Is Causing Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels: New York Times

Energy Link

New York Times
 Japan Quake Is Causing Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels

Japan, the world’s third-largest user of electricity behind China and the United States, had counted on an expansion of nuclear power to contain energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, its nuclear program is in retreat, as the public and government officials urge a sharp reduction in the nation’s reliance on nuclear power and perhaps an end to it altogether.

As its nuclear program implodes, Japan is grappling with a jump in fuel costs, making an economic recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami all the more difficult. Annual fuel expenses could rise by more than 3 trillion yen, or about $39 billion, the government says….

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called for a gradual move away from nuclear energy, and proposed a goal of generating 20 percent of Japan’s electricity from renewable sources, including hydroelectric plants, by the early 2020s. The Parliament is debating legislation to spur that change…

Japan’s liquefied natural gas imports have jumped for three consecutive months, squeezing global supplies amid strong demand from China and other emerging economies…

LNG exports on the cards from Canadian shale gas: Reports

378-cordovamap.jpg(Map by Mitsubishi)

LNG Unlimited

LNG exports on the cards from Canadian shale gas

A consortium of five Japanese energy outfits are set to consider LNG exports from a planned shale gas project in northeastern British Columbia, Canada.

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, Chubu Electric Power, Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas will collaborate with Mitsubishi on the Cordova Embayment Project, which will mark the first shale gas project executed by Japanese utilities and gas companies…

Half of the production will be for the Canadian market.

Natural Gas for America

 Japanese Utilities Joins Cordova Shale Project

A group of Japanese utilities will join Mitsubishi Corp. in a shale gas project led by Penn West Exploration.

Tokyo Gas Co., Osaka Gas Co., Chubu Electric Power Co. and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. have each agreed to take a 7.5% stake in Cordoba Gas Resources, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi.

Through the formation of the consortium, all the companies expect to obtain beneficial knowledge about shale gas developments. The consortium plans to discuss studying the possibility of exporting the shale gas to Japan as LNG which will contribute to diversify energy import and to secure stable energy supply to Japan, Mitsubishi Corp. said in a statement.

Mitsubishi news release

Editor’s note:
Mitsubishi’s interest in the Cordova project was under negotiation last year, long before the earthquake which knocked out much of Japan’s energy generating capacity, especially the hard hit Fukishima nuclear reactor complex. Now, with Japanese companies and the government looking to replace nuclear with natural gas, this is likely the first of a number of deals that will be announced in the coming months. That natural gas has to get to Japan somehow, and that likely means more announcements regarding the port of Kitimat.