Jera, Japan’s largest power generation company, has reached agreements to buy as much as 5.5 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas from U.S. suppliers.
The 20-year deals include purchases by Jera from NextDecade and Commonweath LNG, CEO Yukio Kani said in an interview. The company has also entered into nonbinding agreements with Sempra Infrastructure and Cheniere Marketing.
The agreements bolster Japan’s role as the world’s second-largest LNG importer, and come as U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to expand exports of the fuel. Tokyo is locked in trade negotiations with Washington, and has been trying to leverage its large purchases of American energy to reduce tariffs.
While Japan is working on increasing renewable energy and restarting nuclear power, "LNG is a key energy source from a security point of view,” Kani said. Japan’s government sees the AI boom potentially lifting power demand over the next decade, and has urged the nation’s private utilities to secure more LNG supplies.
All of the contracts announced by Jera have flexible delivery terms, which means shipments can be sent elsewhere if Japanese demand weakens. Jera has been developing its LNG trading capabilities over the last decade, and often resells its supply to Europe or other Asian buyers.
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