HIROSHIMA, Japan: In an effort to increase flexibility and fortify its energy security, Japan, the world’s second-largest LNG importer after China, decided on Sunday, October 6, to investigate partnering with South Korea and Italy on LNG procurement.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said in a statement on Sunday that JERA, the country’s largest utility, and Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS), a significant LNG customer in South Korea, are working together on joint procurement, cargo exchange, and other collaboration options.
According to the statement by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, “the governments of both countries expect that this endeavour will serve as the starting point for a new LNG cooperation between Korean and Japanese companies.”
Separately, as Eni looks for investors for its LNG projects, the state-backed Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and the Italian energy major signed a preliminary agreement to work together on LNG procurement.
According to Cristian Signoretto, Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, “we already deal with Japanese buyers on a short-term basis and we would like to expand that collaboration also to a long-term basis,” he told reporters Sunday while attending an LNG conference in Hiroshima.
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