Japan's Jera to Expand LNG Fleet to 30 Vessels by 2030

Japan based Jera Co. plans to almost double its LNG fleet by 2030, the company said in its business plan released Wednesday.  

As of July 2016, Jera has a fleet of 16 vessels which is expected to expand to about 30 by FY2030. The company wants to pursue optimization through full utilization of own fleet and expansion of trading business. It also hopes to contribute to increase in market liquidity and seek role as leading player in fuel transportation.

Jera stated that its contract LNG volume in FY2030 is seen at 30 to 40 million tons per annum (mtpa) compared with 40 mtpa this year. Long term LNG offtake commitment is seen falling from 35 million tons in July 2016 to 15 mtpa in FY2030 as the company wants to optimize its LNG portfolio by procuring through combination of highly flexible short run and spot contracts and economically efficient and stable long term contracts.

Jera is 50:50 joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) and Chubu Electric Power to secure stable and competitively priced LNG.