Tokyo Gas, Japan expands its US shale-gas business with Chevron

TG Natural Resources LLC, co-owned by Tokyo Gas, Castleton Commodities International and Castleton Commodities, announced on Tuesday that it had purchased a 70% stake of east Texas gas assets for $525m from Chevron, in order to expand its U.S. Gas business.

TGNR, which is the fourth largest producer in the Haynesville shale region, will be able to benefit from synergies worth over $170m during the development of the asset, according to Craig Jarchow.

Haynesville, located in the Gulf Coast region of Texas and Louisiana, is a great location for LNG exports. Investors are paying attention to this as President Donald Trump wants to increase gas exports.

Yoshihisa Yamida, senior manager at Tokyo Gas told reporters that the investment was under consideration before Trump returned to office. However, the deal aligns with the common goal of both countries to increase energy security through increased LNG supply from the U.S.

He said that Tokyo Gas was considering investing in LNG liquidation in the United States, but that no specific decisions had been made.

Tokyo Gas, Japan’s largest city-gas provider, announced last week that it would increase coordination between its LNG and shale businesses in the U.S., and expand there. It sees shale as a major source of profit in the future. (Reporting and writing by Yuka Obayashi, Editing by Eileen Soreng & Janane Venkatraman).

(source: Reuters)