Japan, Alaska sign LNG supply MOU

Japan secured a low-cost and stable supply of LNG after the country’s trade ministry and Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources signed a memorandum of understanding.

Trade ministry official said that Japan will update the state of Alaska on its LNG demand outlook. It will also provide information on government schemes to help support the investment of Japanese private companies in Alaskan projects. On the other hand the state of Alaska will notify Japan on the progress of Exxon Mobil’s LNG project, reports Reuters.

Exxon Mobil and its partners in the project that is expected to cost between $45 billion and $65 billion, earlier asked for federal permission to export 20 million tons of LNG annually. The official also said that the shipping route from Alaska to Japan is considerably shorter than that from the Middle East which will significantly lower the import prices.

The deal was signed by Takayuki Ueda, Commissioner of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the trade ministry and Joe Balash, Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner.

LNG World News Staff, September 8, 2014; Image: NYK