Kansai Electric of Japan, Qatargas Ink LNG Deal

Qatargas signed a new long term Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Kansai Electric Power Company Incorporated (KEPCO) of Japan.

The agreement was signed yesterday in Doha by His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Qatargas 3 in the presence of Mr. Yoichi Mukae, Executive Director of KEPCO.

KEPCO, the second largest electricity company in Japan, is one of the original eight Japanese buyers which signed a multi-party contract with Qatargas 1 back in 1994. The delivery of LNG to Japan and KEPCO under this contract started in 1997.

This is the first long-term bilateral agreement between KEPCO and Qatargas 3. Under the terms of the agreement, Qatargas 3 will deliver 0.5 million tonnes per annum (MTA) of LNG for a period of 15 years starting from 2013.

On this occasion, H.E. Dr. Al-Sada said: “The State of Qatar continues to contribute towards global energy security, in line with the vision of His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Today’s agreement reinforces our strong relationship with one of Qatargas’ foundation customers and demonstrates our continued commitment to supply LNG to Japan for the long-term. As the largest LNG-producing company in the world, Qatargas is committed to providing reliable energy supplies to all four corners of the world.”

Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatargas Chief Executive Officer said: “Today, we have achieved a significant milestone in our excellent partnership with KEPCO, which started in 1994 when we signed an agreement with a consortium of Japanese buyers including KEPCO. This agreement is further testimony of our long-term commitment to Japan and reinforces Qatargas’ global reputation as a safe and reliable supplier of LNG. We remain committed to supporting Japan’s continuous requirement for stable energy supplies.”

Mr. Yoichi Mukae, Executive Director, KEPCO, added: “In this memorable year of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between the state of Qatar and Japan, we are pleased to execute the new contract with Qatargas, the world’s largest LNG supplier. We strongly expect this agreement to reinforce the partnership between Qatargas and Kansai Electric and to lead to our stable LNG procurement.”

Japan is one of the biggest importers of LNG and this announcement reaffirms the continued partnership between the State of Qatar and Japan since the establishment of diplomatic relations 40 years ago.

When Japan was hit by a strong earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, Qatargas successfully demonstrated its reliability and flexibility to supply several Japanese utility companies with large and critical volumes of LNG to compensate for the shut down of their nuclear power plants.

Earlier this year, on June 11, 2012, Qatargas 1 executed a similar long-term deal with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

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LNG World News Staff, September 27, 2012; Image: Qatargas