LNG

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports increased marginally in June even at higher prices, though the half-year figures showed a downward trend for 2024.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports increased again in May even at higher prices while thermal coal deliveries dropped and nuclear plant re-starts plans continued to advance.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports rose by over 16 percent in April even at higher prices while thermal coal deliveries also increased as the nation additionally  prepared for more nuclear plant re-starts in competition to LNG.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports dropped by just over 8 percent in 2023 to a 14-year low as more nuclear, renewables and high levels of coal were used and the nation was again overtaken by China as the world’s No. 1 LNG importer.

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.

Nov 24 (LNGJ) - Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines, whose “energy business fleet” includes over 150 tankers for oil and other products and about 90 LNG carriers, reported higher profits and revenues for the first six months of the year. Revenues in the energy shipping division, one of five in the MOL Group, amounted to 214.9 billion yen ($1.43Bln), up from 189.1Bln yen in the same six months last year. Net profits increased to 37.6Bln yen ($252M) from 22.1Bln yen in the prior-year period.

   Takeshi Hashimoto, President and Chief Executive of MOL, said he was very pleased with the results for the first six months to the end of September. “We accumulated profits in the energy business and car-carrier business, both of which are the strengths of the MOL Group,” Hashimoto explained. “Performance in the first half exceeded forecasts as a result, and with the weaker yen also expected to have an impact on profits in the second half, we have raised the forecast for second-half profits to 220Bln yen ($1.47Bln),” Hashimoto added.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports increased for a second month with more shipments being supplied by Asian nations and the US at much lower prices while deliveries declined of thermal coal for power generation.

Deliveries of LNG to the nation’s regasification terminal network rose by 6.4 percent in October 2023 to 5.42 million tonnes, or 80 cargoes, from the 5.08MT, or 75 shipments, received in October 2022, according to preliminary trade data from the Japanese Finance Ministry.

Imports in the previous month of September had risen by 3.8 percent to 5.52MT from the 5.32MT received in September 2022.

The Ministry figures also showed that LNG cargoes cost 37.6 percent less in October2023 at 495.56 billion yen ($3.31Bln) compared with 794.76Bln yen ($5.30Bln) in October 2022.

Deliveries of thermal coal to Japanese ports dropped by 5.1 percent year-over-year to 8.61MT.

Asia steady

The Ministry data showed the imports of LNG last month from Asian nations like Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei increased by 26.6 percent from October 2022 to 1.19MT. 

Middle East shipments from countries such as Qatar increased by 12.2 percent year-over-year to 421,000 tonnes.

Deliveries from US liquefaction and export plant increased by 175 percent to 568,000 tonnes, though the total was less than the previousmonth’s 707,000 tonnes.

Russian LNG deliveries to Japan fell by 4.6 percent to 506,000 tonnes.

The balance of deliveries to Japan from Australia and the spot market in October 2023 amounted to 2.73MT, which was less than the previous month’s 2.89MT and the 2.92MT logged for this segment in October 2022.

Japan had regained the global No. 1 spot as an LNG importer from China in 2022 with its 72MT of volumes, though the pace of Chinese deliveries has increased in 2023.

Nuclear competition

Japan is also using more nuclear power and intends to bring other reactors on line over the next year or so as public opposition lessens with energy security taking priority.

Almost a dozen reactors are now back in operation compared with the 54 that were online in 2011 before the Fukushima disaster and which had supplied around 30 percent of Japan’s energy needs.

The latest nuclear restart was the Takahama-1 plant owned by LNG importing utility Kansai Electric Power Company and brings to 11 the number of plants in operation from the 33 that are capable of re-starting. 

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority is examining the re-start proposals for 10 more N-plants. 

Among them is Chugoku Electric Power’s plans to restart the No. 2 reactor at its Shimane nuclear power station in August 2024.

The 11 restarted reactors so far are: Genkai-3 and Genkai-4, Ikata-3, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 and Ohi-4, Sendai-1 and Sendai-2 and Takahama-1, Takahama-3 and Takahama-4.

The US Department of Energy published its latest LNG export data with the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain along with South Korea and Japan being the main destinations while prices for that period remained moderate and averaged just over $6 per million British thermal units.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports increased last month as thermal coal imports dropped and energy players in Japan signed more LNG supply contracts amid stricter energy security polices to confront geopolitical uncertainties.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports dropped again last month as storage increased and North Asian prices declined with thermal coal deliveries also plunging while nuclear plant usage is increasing.