Jera Considering Procuring Alaska LNG

REUTERS fil photo/Issei Kato
The logo of JERA Co., Inc., the world’s biggest LNG buyer, is displayed at the company office in Tokyo, Japan July 14, 2017.

Tokyo, Sept. 11 (Jiji Press)—Jera Co., a Japanese power generation company, said Thursday that it is considering procuring liquefied natural gas produced in Alaska.

The company said it has signed a letter of intent with Glenfarne LLC, a U.S. company that leads an LNG development project in Alaska, to advance discussions on the purchase.

Glenfarne said that it expects to supply a million tons of LNG from the Alaska project to Jera annually for 20 years.

The move comes after Japan and the United States recently said that Japan agreed to explore a new Alaskan LNG offtake agreement as part of a trade deal between the two countries.

The project is expected to cost as much as over ¥6 trillion as it seeks to build about 1,300 kilometers of pipeline from natural gas fields in northern Alaska to the southern part of the state.

Japan, meanwhile, would benefit from a shorter transport route, with a shipping time of about 10 days.