LNG

Japan’s industry minister Ryosei Akazawa has urged Australia, the country’s largest LNG supplier, to ramp up output as the Middle East turmoil disrupt regional shipments and unravels trade flows.

TEPCO has been rushing to restart of Unit 6 Japan’s largest nuclear power station to displace LNG-fuelled power at a time of escalating gas prices. With 1,356 MW installed capacity, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 6, is could help avoid combustion of 1.3 million tons of imported LNG, based on Japanese government estimates of fuel substitution.

Japan’s second largest oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan has announced a $500 million investment in MidOcean Energy in a bid to enter the global LNG business. Idemitsu’s equity raise in MidOcean forms part of a $1.2 billion equity raise, with funds targeted at expanding LNG projects in Australia, Canada, South America.

Market Summary: Japan imported 10.28mmt of LNG during February to March 2026, receiving 174 cargoes from 15 supplier countries. Australia was the leading supplier with a 45.7 percent share, followed by Malaysia (14.2 percent) and Russia (8.5 percent).

Alarmed by oil and LNG supply disruptions, South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun has pleaded his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi to supply LNG and crude oil. KOGAS, meanwhile, vowed to bring the entire LNG equity volumes from its projects in Australia and Canada to its Korean home market to mitigate the risk of fuel shortages.

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party has announced the abolition of spring caps limiting coal-fired plants to 80 percent capacity, alongside boosting nuclear utilization to over 80 percent from late-60s levels. “We aim to lift coal power caps to ease reliance on LNG for electricity generation,” an official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said, pointing at government strategy to stabilize baseload power.

Market Summary: South Korea imported 7.76mmt of LNG during February to March 2026, receiving 120 cargoes from 13 supplier countries. Australia was the leading supplier with a 30.2 percent share, followed by Malaysia (17.0 percent) and Qatar (9.7 percent).

Rising LNG prices are feeding through to wholesale electricity markets. To mitigate exposure, utilities in Thailand and Vietnam are shifting from purely index linked LNG contracts toward structures with price caps and multi year tenures, covering up to 80 percent of their projected LNG-fired power plant needs.

Pakistan’s diverse domestic energy mix — nuclear, coal and hydropower — is cushioning the country from the global energy price shock due to the Iran war. With nearly three-quarters of its electricity generated from local sources, Pakistan managed to mitigate the immediate fallout of halt in its contracted long-term LNG deliveries from QatarEnergies.

Southeast Asian countries with historically low gas storage levels have resorted to panic buying in a rush to replenish reserves ahead of the next winter. A “vicious feedback loop” could weakening the domestic purchasing power.