LNG Japan Corp. May Set Up Asia's First LNG Trading Platform
By Trisha Huang
bloomberg.com
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- LNG Japan Corp., which imported a quarter of Japan's liquefied petroleum gas last year, may set up Asia's first trading platform for the fuel.
New trading tools may allow more participants into a market that's been dominated by producers and users and help Japan to meet its future energy needs, Toshiki Miyazawa of LNG Japan said at fifth annual Fortis Energy Forum in Singapore.
Japan, which imported 57 million metric tons of LNG in 2005, buys most of it gas on long-term contracts. Until now, the scale of investment and a lack of liquidity have kept LNG trading in the hands of companies with access to reserves, cargoes, fleets and processing facilities.
``Government deregulation will pave the way for more participants to enter the market, creating liquidity,'' said Miyazawa. Japan buys most of its LNG from Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia on contracts.
The company plans to turn its Web site LNG OneWorld into a trading platform, Miyazawa, manager of the company's Indonesia LNG Department, said today. He declined to say when the trading site will start.
``There is a lot of growth potential for LNG in Japan,'' he said. ``The rise of spot LNG trading is a good thing for the industry,''
Natural gas supplies 14 percent of the country's energy needs, compared with 25 percent in the U.S., and an average of 23 percent in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development countries.
Japan's import demand is expected to grow 40 percent to about 80 million metric tons by 2020 as utilities switch from burning fuel oil, Miyazawa said.
LNG Japan, a joint-venture between Sumitomo Corp. and Sojitz Corp., supplies to nine customers including Chubu Electric Power Co., Tokyo Gas Co. and Nippon Steel Corp.
To contact the reporter on this story: Trisha Huang in Singapore at thuang14@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 26, 2006 04:39 EDT |
