LNG

Woodside Energy, the liquefied natural gas plants operator in Western Australia, reported a second-quarter increase in LNG sales revenues from the Pluto, Northwest Shelf and Wheatstone operations even at lower prices.

JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s biggest liquefied natural gas importer and utility company, has approved a deal to sell part of its stake in the Freeport LNG export plant in Texas to another Japanese company.

JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s biggest liquefied natural gas importer and utility company, has issued a new “realistic pathway” for its growth strategy through 2035 led by more than 35 million tonnes per annum of LNG volumes and huge investments.

JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s biggest liquefied natural gas importer and utility company, reported an increase in fiscal full-year profits while revenues plunged nearly 22 percent because of a decrease in electric power sales.

March 28 (LNGJ) - Japan’s future LNG needs may be further affected by moves to bring the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear facility in central Japan, one of the largest in the world by output, back on line. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Holdings, the publicly listed company and plant operator majority-owned by the Government of Japan, said it had submitted a proposal to deliver nuclear fuel to the No. 7 reactor at its idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant as early as April 15.

   JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest LNG importer, is 50-percent owned by TEPCO and another 50 percent stake in JERA is held by Chubu Electric Power. TEPCO said it was seeking approval for the fuel plan from the Nuclear Regulation Authority. However, it was still uncertain whether the 1.35-million-kilowatt reactor located in the coastal area of Niigata Prefecture can actually be restarted soon because such a move still requires the consent of all local governments in the service area.

Woodside Energy, the operator of the Northwest Shelf LNG project and Pluto LNG in Western Australia, has completed the sale of a 10 percent non-operating participating interest in the Scarborough Gas joint venture for US$910 million to the LNG Japan group.

The completion follows Woodside’s announcement in August 2023 that it had established a strategic relationship with LNG Japan that involved equity in the Scarborough project, potential LNG offtake and collaboration on opportunities in new energy.

“The sale proceeds received by Woodside of US$910M for equity in the Scarborough Joint Venture comprise the purchase price, reimbursed expenditure and escalation,” said Woodside in a statement.

Trading houses

Woodside’s sale and purchase agreement is with a jointly owned subsidiary of LNG Japan, which is a 50-50 joint venture between two Japanese trading houses, Sumitomo Corp. and Sojitz Corp., and a Japanese state-owned agency called the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (Jogmec).

The Scarborough gas field project comprises the Pluto Train 2 joint venture and modifications to Pluto Train 1 to process Scarborough gas.

The venture includes the Scarborough field itself and associated offshore and subsea infrastructure.

The Scarborough field is located 375 kilometres (233 miles) off the coast of Western Australia and the reservoir contains less than 0.1 percent carbon dioxide.

Scarborough gas will be processed at the Pluto LNG facility, where Woodside is currently constructing a second liquefaction Train .

In addition to the sale of a 10 percent non-operating participating interest to Japan LNG, Woodside additionally stated in February 2024 that it had entered into an SPA with the largest Japanese LNG importer and power company, JERA Co. Inc. for a 15.1 percent non-operating participating interest in Scarborough.

Commitment

“LNG Japan’s commitment to the Scarborough Joint Venture is a demonstration of the value our customers place on gas as a long-term source of energy as they navigate the energy transition,” said Woodside Chief Executive Meg O’Neill.

“Completion of the sale to LNG Japan is a significant milestone as we progress toward first LNG cargo from Scarborough targeted in 2026,” O’Neill stated.

“We are also pleased to welcome Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security’s equity investment,” the CEO added.

“Jogmec’s support reflects the contribution Scarborough gas will make to Japan’s energy security,” she added.

Woodside still holds a 90 percent interest in the Scarborough venture and will remain as operator.

Following completion of the transaction with JERA Woodside’s interest will be 74.9 percent in the Scarborough venture.

After completion of the JERA deal, Woodside estimated that as of 26 March 2024, the Perth-based company’s Scarborough field proved (1P) undeveloped reserves are reduced by 128.7 million barrels of oil equivalent to 1,158.3 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The US Freeport LNG export plant on Quintana Island in Texas has announced scheduled shut-downs of its liquefaction Trains for repairs and maintenance and de-bottlenecking to  boost output in the future.

JERA Co. Inc, Japan’s biggest liquefied natural gas importer and utility company, has agreed to acquire a large stake in the Scarborough gas field development offshore Western Australia from Woodside Energy for US$1.5 billion, giving a financial boost to the Pluto LNG expansion.

Dec 27 (LNGJ) - JERA Co. Inc, the largest Japanese LNG importer and power supplier, has concluded an agreement to support the expansion of LNG and gas-fired power in the Philippines through system designs and tight regulatory oversight. The agreement was concluded following JERA’s selection as the contracted party for the oversight project. “The Republic of the Philippines is expected to expand its adoption of gas-fired thermal power generation due to the increased demand for electricity accompanying the country’s robust economic growth,” said JERA

   The Tokyo-based company said its role would include developing national systems including regulatory frameworks to “support the full-scale adoption of LNG in the Philippines and support for developing regulations for facilities” related to the construction, operation and maintenance of LNG storage and regasification terminals, gas transportation and distribution systems as well as third-party access.

Chiyoda Corp., the leading Japanese energy and LNG engineering company, has been awarded a technical service agreement (TSA) by the Indonesian Donggi-Senoro LNG project, the all-Asian venture whose largest shareholder is Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.

“The agreement covers engineering, technology, and process safety support for the LNG plant and is scheduled to be carried out for three years,” said Chiyoda.

The LNG plant produces around 2 million tonnes per annum of LNG and has long-term contracts with Japanese and South Korean buyers.

Chiyoda said its Operations & Maintenance (O&M) division established at the start of 2023 would take the lead in providing the services.

The contract will also make use of Chiyoda’s consulting and engineering capabilities as a part of the plant-OSTM Services.

Service-focused

Chiyoda noted that this service was set up in September 2023 to offer field-centred physical maintenance support for industrial plants with “inherent digital technologies affording to the customer deep insight” into the plant status.

Production at Donggi-Senoro LNG commenced in August 2015 and the plant has been operating at a high rate since its start-up.

The facilities liquefy and export feed gas from the Senoro-Toili block and the Matindok block onshore gas fields in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province.

Mitsubishi owns around 45 percent of the Donggi-Senoro joint venture and the other partners are Korea Gas Corp., the Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina and Indonesia’s largest publicly-listed energy company Medco.

When Donggi-Senoro started it was the first LNG project exclusively owned and operated by Asian companies without the participation of international oil majors.

However, Mitsubishi is now one of Japan’s leading LNG stakeholders with assets and supplies from North America, including LNG Canada, Malaysia, Brunei, Australia and Russia.

The Donggi-Senoro customers are Japanese utility giant JERA Co. Inc., which takes delivery of 1 MTPA, Kogas with 700,000 tonnes per annum and Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power contracted for 300,000 tonnes per annum.