By Mrinalika Roy and Sethuraman N R
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Japan’s top power generator JERA expects competition for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) to increase as demand from Asia and Europe rises, its CEO said on Wednesday.
“There are many potential buyers. Asian and European buyers are really interested in U.S. energy. So, there are many competitors,” JERA Asia CEO Izumi Kai told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week conference.
Companies in the U.S., the world’s largest exporter of LNG, are pushing ahead with projects for new or expanded export capacity after the Trump administration in January lifted a moratorium on new LNG export permits. Trump’s decision could pave the way for almost 100 million metric tons per year (tpy) of additional LNG by 2031.
Currently, 10% of JERA’s offtake volume come from the U.S., Kai said.
“Going forward, we may increase sourcing of U.S. LNG depending on (price) competitiveness,” he added. Kai said the company was looking at multiple competitive LNG projects along the U.S. Gulf Coast, but declined to say if JERA was looking at taking a stake in Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG project. Woodside is seeking to sell a 50% stake in the Louisiana LNG project, which it fully owns following the $1.2 billion acquisition of developer Tellurian Inc in October.
“We will continue to identify the better project for us,” Kai said, adding that the company was looking at opportunities globally including the Middle East, and Australia.
“So if something happens in a particular area we can still manage physical supply,” he said.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Sethuraman N R in Delhi; additional reporting by Yagnoseni Das; Editing by Florence Tan and Stephen Coates)
