Japan is considering increasing its emergency supply of LNG reserves by at least 12 cargos a year, a substantial increase from the current three.
Media reports citing Japan’s Industry Ministry said the country is upping its reserves from 0.21 tonnes per annum (tpa) of LNG to 0.85tpa, to help protect the country against unexpected drops in supply.
Japan is the world’s second-largest consumer of LNG, after China.
The country is also planning to expand its position as an LNG trader, despite domestic demand for the fuel being on a decline, with renewable energy and nuclear power now providing more power, meaning gas demand has fallen 25% since its 2014 peak.
However, Japan’s objective is to increase its energy security through surplus LNG reserves and then trade surplus cargos that are not needed at times of low electricity demand.
According to Offshore Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, the total generation for gas-fired power in Japan totalled 314,465 gigawatt-hours in 2023.
From December 2023, JERA, the country’s leading power generator, purchased one LNG cargo for each winter month. This winter the company will continue to purchase one cargo of 70,000 tonnes of LNG between December and February.
Australia is currently Japan’s number one supplier of LNG, with supplies from the Middle East providing 14% of the country’s demand in August. Russia, according to Japanese customs records, provided one tenth of LNG supply.
