JERA, Japan’s largest power generator, agreed last month to purchase a 15.1% share in Woodside Energy’s Scarborough project in Australia.
It was the latest in a series of agreements as the repercussions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to interrupt access to gas from its northern neighbour, making it even more important to find reliable long-term supply sources.
LNG provides for around one-third of Japan’s power generation and is the world’s second-largest importer after China.
It is an important element of Japan’s energy mix, despite the fact that imports decreased by 8% last year to their lowest level since 2009, as the country expanded its usage of renewable energy and reactivated several nuclear reactors after a total shutdown after the Fukushima tragedy in 2011.
Since 2022, Japanese LNG purchasers have made equity investments in five projects in Australia and the United States, including an exploratory block. They have obtained 10- to 20-year offtake contracts with those nations for more than 5 million metric tonnes per year, or 8% of Japan’s 2023 demand.
Source: Energy Ghana