METI official: Japan could increase LNG purchases for emergency reserves to almost 1 million T per year.
An official from the industry ministry stated that Japan may increase its purchases of LNG for emergency purposes to at least twelve cargoes per year, up from the current three, in order to protect against supply shocks. The plan to boost reserves involves the second largest LNG buyer in the world, China. It will increase its purchases from 0.21 million tonnes per year to at least 0,84 million tonnes. In order to increase energy security and boost domestic demand, Japan trades cargoes it does not want at home when demand is low.
Japan increases LNG flexibility through collaboration with S.Korea and Italy
Japan agreed to cooperate with South Korea and Italy in the procurement of LNG. It is the second largest LNG importer behind China, which seeks more flexibility while strengthening energy security. JERA, Japan’s largest utility company, and South Korea’s Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), a major buyer of LNG, are working together on joint procurement, cargo exchanges and other forms of collaboration, the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a Sunday statement.
Japan's LNG stocks are above the 5-year average and buyers want more cargoes
The data showed that the liquefied gas stocks held by Japan's major electric utilities increased 14% from the previous week to 2,09 million tons on Sept. 8. This is above the average five-year figure for this time of year. Rystad Energy's analyst stated that buyers wanted to buy more cargoes in September due to the forecast of temperatures above average until early October, especially for Japan and South Korea. Japan, second largest LNG buyer in the world after China…
Japan to Develop Offshore Wind Farms at 30 Sites in 10 years
Japan will craft new rules and support infrastructure in a drive that aims to build offshore wind farms at 30 sites during the next decade, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama is expected to announce policy measures soon to target the goal, the paper said, without identifying sources.The new policy aims for three or four projects each year with total generation capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW), from the financial year starting in April 2021 until fiscal 2030/2031…
Japan Spot LNG Import Prices Hit Record Low
Prices for spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes imported into Japan, the world's biggest buyer of the fuel, fell in April to their lowest since the country's trade ministry started compiling data in 2014. The latest low for LNG cargoes into Japan - reflecting actual prices paid rather than those derived from surveys or indices - highlights the evisceration of demand for gas, along with other commodities, brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak has turned markets on their heads, with U.S.
Country-by-Country Look at Dropping Fuel Demand
It's hardly news that the COVID-19 pandemic has sent most every market into tumult, most notably the oil and gas market as political power plays flood the world with oil precisely when demand has plummeted. Here we provide some recent insights on just how steep falls in fuel demand has been as lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus limit the movement of more than 4 billion people.UNITED STATESU.S. fuel demand has dropped 28% in the last four weeks…
Water at Fukushima Site is Still Radioactive
The owner of the Fukushima nuclear plant, destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami more than seven years ago, said water treated at the site still contains radioactive materials that for years it has insisted had been removed.The admission by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) could ruin its chances of releasing the water into the ocean, a move the nuclear regulator says is safe but which local fishermen oppose.Tokyo won the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics more than five years ago…
Japan December Spot LNG Teases 3-year High
Average price of spot LNG contracted in Dec was $10.20/mmBtu. Prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot cargoes for Japan, the world's top buyer, rose to their highest in nearly three years in December, official data showed on Monday, in line with firm spot prices in the region. The average contract price for spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for shipment to Japan last month was $10.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up $1.20 from the previous month…
Japan Spot LNG Contract Price at 5-Month Low
Prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot cargoes for Japan, the world's top buyer, fell to a five-month low in March from a two-year high the month before, official data showed on Tuesday. The average price of spot LNG contracted last month was $6.20 per million British thermal units, according to monthly data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), down $2.30 from the previous month and the lowest since last October.
Japan Oct Spot LNG Price Rises to 8-Month High
Prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot cargoes for Japan, the world's top buyer, rose in October to an eight-month high, official data showed on Thursday. The average price of spot LNG contracted last month was $6.10 per million British thermal units, up from $5.70 in September, monthly data by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed. Asian LNG prices <LNG-AS> extended gains in October, hitting $6.95 per mmBtu by the end of the month…
Ship of the Year Award for NYK Vessel
Japan's first LNG-fueled ship, Sakigake, which is a tugboat owned by NYK has been recognized with a Technology Special Award at the 2015 Ship of the Year Awards sponsored by the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE). An awards ceremony was held on July 7 at the Kaiun Club in Tokyo. This is the 26th year that JASNAOE has recognized the most technically advanced, well-designed, and socially conscious vessels built in Japan…
Japan LNG Prices Fall to Lowest in More Than 2 Years
Prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot cargoes for Japan, the world's top buyer, fell in May to the lowest since the trade ministry started publishing figures more than two years ago, official data showed on Thursday. The average price of spot LNG contracted in May fell by 10 cents from the previous month to $4.10 per mmBtu, the monthly data by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed, down from $14.80 two years ago.
TonenGeneral Imports Japan's First Kurdish Oil Cargo
TonenGeneral imported Japan's first cargo of Kurdish crude from northern Iraq in January, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region began selling oil directly to world markets in 2015 to get money for its survival and to fight Islamic State. Typically, Kurdish oil, exported via Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, has gone to Europe. TonenGeneral imported about 1 million barrels of Kurdish oil last month…
Brent, U.S. Crude Battle for Premium in Weak Market
U.S. crude flipped into Brent premium before Christmas; Brent gains ground post-Christmas. International Brent and U.S. crude oil futures battled for a premium on Monday but both benchmarks fell in a market in which there is no end in sight for oversupply that has brought down prices by two-thirds since the downturn began in mid-2014. The international crude oil futures benchmark Brent was trading at $37.58 a barrel at 0739 GMT, down 31 cents from its last settlement. U.S.
Cable Connector for Largest Floating Wind Turbine
Subsea connector specialist First Subsea has been awarded a contract to supply a cable connector for the third phase of the Fukushima Floating Offshore Wind Farm Demonstration, offshore Japan. In this latest phase of the project, the connector will be used to connect 22kV cable to a 7MW wind turbine – reportedly the world’s largest floating wind turbine. So far First Subsea has provided all the cable connectors for both 22kV and 66 kV cables on the Fukushima project.
JRI,MHI, INPEX Tie-up for METI's Feasibility Study
The Japan Research Institute, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and INPEX CORPORATION have submitted a joint proposal in response to a public offer by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on "Feasibility Study on CCS-EOR projects in Southern Mexico - FY2015 Global Warming Mitigation Technology Promotion Project (*1)". The feasibility study consortium has concluded a contract concerning the commissioned work with METI. The commissioned…
Japan Ending Coal-Fired Power Plant Construction
Japan plans to stop power firms building coal-fuelled plants that are inefficient and dirty as it manages the competing demands of cutting greenhouse gas emissions while stepping up use of the fuel after the Fukushima disaster, officials said. The government has come under fierce criticism from environmentalists and more subtle pressure from allies over its support for coal, the use of which has surged to record levels after the shutdown of reactors. The government aims to have coal account for 26 percent of the electricity mix by 2030.
Fukushima Floating Offshore Wind Project Progressing
An experimental offshore floating wind farm project sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has been underway since March 2012. Participating in the project is a consortium comprised of Marubeni (project integrator), the University of Tokyo (technical advisor), Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan Marine United, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, Hitachi, Furukawa Electric, Shimizu, and Mizuho Information & Research.
Japan's April LNG Spot Price at 2-Month Low
Average liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot prices for buyers in Japan fell to a two-month low in April, trade ministry data showed on Thursday, in another sign of slack global demand. Spot LNG contracted in April for delivery to Japan averaged $7.60 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from $8 a month earlier, less than half the level a year ago, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said. Spot cargoes booked earlier and arriving in April averaged $7.90 per mmBtu, up from $7.60 in March.
MHI Completes Testing of Wireless Power Transmission Technology
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has conducted ground demonstration testing of "wireless power transmission," a new technology presently under development to serve as the core technology of the space solar power systems (SSPS) that are expected to be the power generation systems of the future. With successful completion of the test at the company's Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works, MHI has now verified the viability of long-distance wireless power transmission.
