LNG

MidOcean Energy, the LNG assets company formed and managed by global infrastructure investor EIG, said Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. had made a strategic investment.

EIG is a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors with around $23 billion under management and also announced on March 28 that it had completed the acquisition of the portfolio interests in Australia of Tokyo Gas.

Mitsubishi has been an active player in the LNG sector for over 50 years and is involved in 12 projects, including the LNG Canada venture that comes on stream soon in the province of British Columbia.

The Japanese company made the investment In MidOceam to develop its clean-energy portfolio while fulfilling its responsibility as a stable energy supplier to Japan.

EIG’s MidOcean said that Mitsubishi’s investment, the details of which were not disclosed, deepened MidOcean’s blue-chip base and builds on its “significant momentum” since launching in late 2022.

Blue-chip investors

“We are thrilled to have Mitsubishi join as an anchor investor,” said De la Rey Venter, Chief Executive of MidOcean.

“Mitsubishi has been a pioneer of the global LNG industry and has consistently demonstrated its expertise and foresight in identifying valuable opportunities,” Venter added.

“Their investment is a testament to the strong fundamentals of the LNG market and MidOcean’s strategy to create a competitive long-term growth platform in LNG,” stated the MidOcean CEO.

R. Blair Thomas, EIG’s Chairman and CEO, said he welcomed a strategic partnership with a company such as Mitsubishi.

“The world’s energy transition needs are contributing to rapid growth in global LNG demand, and we look forward to continuing to execute on this attractive and important opportunity,” added Thomas.

Tokyo Gas deal

MidOcean’s recent completion of the acquisition of the Tokyo Gas assets in Australia gives it stakes in the Chevron-operated Gorgon LNG, the Pluto LNG project run by Woodside Energy and the Shell-operated Queensland Curtis LNG venture.

As part of the transaction, MidOcean said it would open an office in Perth in Western Australia to support and oversee the projects.

EIG is headquartered in Washington DC and also has offices in Houston, Texas, London, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong and Seoul.

For the completion of the MidOcean-Tokyo Gas deal Barrenjoey, Barclays and JP Morgan acted as financial advisors to EIG and MidOcean in connection with the transaction.

White & Case acted as legal advisor to EIG and MidOcean.

EIG’s clients include many of the leading pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds around the world.

Tokyo Gas, the second-largest Japanese LNG importer, has agreed to sell stakes held in four out of five LNG export projects in Australia, to the US-based private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners.