Tokyo Gas Mulls LNG Trading

Tokyo Gas plans to start trading LNG before 2017 to boost flexibility in shipments and reduce import costs, company’s new president Michiaki Hirose told news agency Bloomberg.

Hirose said the company may resell LNG cargoes to customers in Asia and Europe.

By reselling LNG, Tokyo Gas believes it can commit to buying larger volumes, favoring the company in price negotiations, Hirose told Bloomberg last week.

Tokyo Gas, which currently doesn’t have experience in physical LNG trading, may begin the new business before the U.S. starts exports from about 2017, Hirose said.

In September last year the company announced its plan to buy 1.4 million metric tons a year of LNG from the Cove Point plant in Maryland.

Japan imported record LNG in 2013 as demand for the fuel saw strong rise due to shut down of its nuclear stations since the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

The country imported 87.49 million tonnes of LNG last year, up 0.2 percent, Ministry of Finance data released showed.  

Total value of imports stood at 7.06 trillion yen ($68.98 billion), which is also a record.

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