Minister says Canada's Alberta is looking to Japan for new LNG contracts amid US tariff threats

Rebecca Schulz is the minister for environment and protected areas in Canada's Alberta, which is a major producer of gas. She said that expanding into Japan was an important goal in light of a U.S. Tariff threat.

Schulz, in an interview with a Japanese journalist in Tokyo on Wednesday evening, said: "The United States is a good example of why we need to diversify the markets we export to. Japan is destined to be one of our key areas."

Over the last week, she has met with officials, business lobbies, and company representatives. These include JERA, Japan’s largest LNG buyer, JOGMEC (Japan Gas Association), which is chaired by a Tokyo Gas executive.

Schulz stated that "energy security is an important issue for many countries including Japan and Canada." "A lot our conversations were focused on the balance in meeting energy demand."

A senior official in the industry ministry said that while Japan's overall LNG demand is declining, it could grow if its renewables rollout is too slow. Mitsubishi announced this week that it will be reviewing its offshore wind operations in Japan, while other companies have also warned about rising costs.

Sources said that U.S. president Donald Trump and Japan’s prime minister Shigeru Shiba will meet on Friday to discuss, among other things, a massive proposed Alaska LNG project. The competition to secure major LNG buyers has been increasing.

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan urged Japan on Wednesday and other U.S. Allies in Asia, to support the Alaska LNG Project, warning that if these allies were not interested, China, a strategic rival, would be.

The LNG Canada project, in which Mitsubishi is a partner, is set to begin exports to Japan by the end of this year. However the country wants to expand its export capabilities.

Schulz, when asked about Alberta's comparative advantages with the U.S. pointed out that the shipping time is shorter compared to U.S. Gulf Coast and, "given geographic realities, there is less geopolitical risks", among others.

She said that a number projects are currently being developed... four to five in order to increase market capacity. "Our government is focused on expanding our partnerships with Japan because we see so many opportunities." (Reporting and editing by SonaliPaul; KatyaGolubkova)

(source: Reuters)