Jera, one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas buyers, is seeking to broaden long-term exports of the fuel as a way to expand its global presence and offload excess supply. Japan’s largest power producer — which imports LNG primarily for domestic consumption — is seeking to “identify additional markets where we can sell,” said Irtiza Sayyed, chief executive officer of Jera Global Energy Solutions, which oversees the company’s long-term LNG business. Many Asian countries in particular are seeking alternative supplies of LNG as the ongoing war in the Middle East disrupts flows of the super-chilled fuel through the Strait of Hormuz, which used to handle a fifth of global shipments.
Buyers are seeking to reduce risk by securing contracts with exporters outside the Persian Gulf. Jera GES was launched in July to manage the company’s long-term LNG portfolio, including contracts that last 10 years or longer. Locking in overseas buyers for years will allow Jera to have a demand outlet when consumption is lower in Japan, or if there is excess supply.
The Japanese company announced its first long-term export supply deal late last year, agreeing to deliver four cargoes annually over the next decade to privately owned Indian utility Torrent Power. The shipments — totaling around 270,000 tons a year — are due to begin in 2027. In a separate interview Tuesday, Jera’s chairman and global chief executive officer, Yukio Kani, said the company had “extra cargoes” available after an unusually cool summer in Tokyo.
These could be diverted to help other Asian countries, he said, adding that Jera had secured “almost everything” it needs for the winter. Jera GES will also seek to charter additional LNG carriers in the later part of the decade as its exposure to the U.S. Gulf Coast increases, Sayyed said.
By around 2030, the company expects to procure about 30% of its LNG on a long-term basis from the region, compared with 10% currently.
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