LNG

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, said it expected the LNG demand-supply imbalance to be less serious this winter season than last because the forecast milder weather, the high storage held in Europe and the delayed resurgence of the economy in China.

JERA, which buys around 35 million tonnes per annum of LNG and is Japan’s biggest fossil-fuel electricity generator being owned jointly by Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric, the two largest power companies, gave the LNG market forecast in a company earnings presentation

The presentation in Tokyo was led by JERA President and Chief Executive Hisahide Okuda.

JERA, which currently oversees the operations and provides fuel for a total of 26 power plants in Japan and imports LNG into 11 of Japan’s network of 37 terminals, said the only issue to be concerned with was that of the unexpected.

Potential issues

“Since overall global supply has not grown, there is the potential for LNG production issues on the supply side - a problem at any LNG plant could cause prices to jump. We believe, therefore, that the environment for LNG procurement remains unpredictable,” Okuda explained.

“Turning to LNG fundamentals, although demand for LNG is growing, particularly in Europe, LNG supply is not expected to catch up to that demand until around 2025, leading to a tight supply-and-demand situation,” the CEO said.

“However, at JERA, in addition to building an LNG portfolio that combines long-term, short-term, and spot contracts, we also secure a stable fuel supply by flexibly optimizing procurement and resale through JERA Global Markets,” Okuda added.

He noted that the company was also following the “Strategic Buffer LNG (SBL)” plan proposed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) whereby at least one LNG carrier-load of surplus LNG per month between December and February can be supplied to any domestic operators as determined by METI.

According to METI and its Policy Subcommittee on Electricity and Gas, Japan will have a winter’s reserve margin exceeding the 3 percent minimum necessary to ensure stable supply.

“JERA, however, is taking nothing for granted. We will be doing our utmost to secure both kilowatts and kilowatt hours in order to ensure stable power supply,” CEO Okuda stated.

Older plants

“JERA is moving steadily forward in replacing older thermal power plants with state-of-the-art facilities. Six units, totaling 4.32 million kilowatts, whose replacement has already been completed, have begun commercial operation,” he added.

The CEO declared that looking to 2024, JERA would continue moving forward with an additional 2.99 million kilowatts in power plant replacement.

“We believe that moving decisively in this way to upgrade power sources is an important part of ensuring safety,” Okuda said.

In addition, given the smooth progress of trial operations at Yokosuka Thermal Power coal-fired power plant’s Unit 2, we will be moving its start of commercial operation forward from February 2024 to December 2023, which will also contribute to this winter’s supply capacity,” the CEO said.

The Yokosuka coal-fired plant is described by JERA as a “high-efficiency coal-fired power station that uses an ultra-supercritical (USC) power generation” system.

“Its generating capacity of 650 megawatts will contribute to a stable electricity supply,” Okuda added.

The JERA CEO said that the company was also moving forward with carbon-capture and storage projects in Asia.

JERA is carrying out joint research with Japanese LNG and energy engineers JGC Holdings Corp. and the Indonesian state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) on a project to introduce and commercialise CCS for thermal power.

“With these projects and others, we are collaborating on decarbonisation with a growing number of Asian countries including Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore,” Okuda said.

JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s biggest liquefied natural gas importer and utility company, reported an almost 8 percent increase in quarterly revenues and a swing to profit compared with a loss in the same three months of last year.

March 8 (LNGJ) - Chevron Corp.’s new energies division has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s largest LNG buyer JERA Co. Inc. that provides a framework for their collaboration on carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the United States and Australia. “This MOU has the potential to expand the significant LNG relationship that Chevron and JERA have today and further demonstrates the commitment and dedication both companies have to advancing lower carbon solutions,” said a statement.

   “We have a long-standing LNG relationship with JERA that continues to progress, with the intent of bringing affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner solutions to our customers,” added Chris Powers, Vice President of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage at Chevron.

Japanese energy group JERA Co Inc., one of the world's biggest importers of liquefied natural gas, is expected to expand its Asian business into China as well as other nations in the region.

JERA Co Inc., the largest Japanese LNG buyer, said it signed an accord with ExxonMobil and the city government of the Vietnamese port of Haiphong to work together on a potential integrated LNG-to-Power project for the Port.

The US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette has issued a final long-term order authorizing the export of domestically produced liquefied natural gas from the proposed Jordan Cove LNG Terminal at Coos Bay in the northwest state of Oregon.

The export permit, which had previously been conditional, follows the approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced March 2020 for the siting, construction, and operation of the Jordan Cove liquefaction plant and the related Pacific Connector Pipeline.

“The export authorization for Jordan Cove, the first US West Coast LNG project, will ease access to further position the US as a top supplier of LNG around the world,” said Secretary Brouillette.

“The issuance to Jordan Cove serves to further expand opportunities for US LNG abroad, particularly in the growing markets of Asia, and encapsulates what the Trump Administration has been working hard on for the past three years - providing reliable, affordable, and cleaner-burning natural gas to our allies around the world,” stated Brouillette.

The development company, the Jordan Cove Energy Project is owned by Canada’s Pembina Pipeline Corp. and it now has the authority to export up to 1.08 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas as LNG.

The DoE statement said the project’s natural gas will be sourced from both Canada and the United States and would be liquefied at the Jordan Cove facility for export to any nation worldwide, unless trade is prohibited by US law.

Calgary, Alberta-based Pembina acquired the Jordan Cove LNG project in late 2017 in its takeover of another Canadian company, Veresen Inc.

The project includes a 230-mile pipeline which would traverse four counties in Southern Oregon on the route to the liquefaction plant.

The liquefaction plant and other facilities are planned for a 200-acre site and comprise five small-scale Trains each with 1.5 million tonnes per annum of output for a total of 7.8 MTPA.

“As we work to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, LNG exports are going to be one of the building blocks toward the United States’ economic recovery,” said DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg.

“The US has exported LNG to 38 countries, with this authorization to Jordan Cove, the United States can look to increase that number with expanded geographic coverage for LNG exports into key importing markets in Asia, providing enhanced economic opportunities both here in the US and globally,” added Winberg.

Jordan Cove has multiple facilities, including two full-containment storage tanks with total capacity of 320,000 cubic metres, gas treating infrastructure, an export jetty and access to more than 25 billion cubic feet per day of gas supply from Western Canada and the US Rockies.

The project’s Pacific Connector pipeline will have a 36-inch diameter with capacity to transport up to 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Feed-gas for Jordan Cove would be sourced at the Malin Hub, creating a new outlet for natural gas from areas such as the Rockies Basin.

The export plant is expected to be visited by about 120 LNG carriers per year and Pembina has signed preliminary accords with Jera Co. Inc. and Itochu Corp. of Japan for the supply of cargoes.