AsianOil: Japan’s JERA gets the OK on LNG stockpiling plan

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has given the green light to an initiative proposed by JERA, the nation's leading power generator. The plan involves the accumulation of surplus LNG during the winter months, serving as a strategic reserve to mitigate potential supply disruptions. The decision to greenlight the plan comes in the wake of Japan's status as the world's largest LNG importer in 2022, and aims to establish what is being called a "strategic buffer LNG (SBL)" framework to help bolster LNG supply.

This is an issue being seen as particularly important as winter approaches given challenges faced by Tokyo during last year's energy crisis.

JERA, as Japan’s largest buyer of LNG shipments, is itself a joint venture (JV) between the nation’s largest utility, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), and Chubu Electric Power in central Japan.

The firm is known to control the movement of around 40mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG using a dedicated fleet of 20 LNG carriers operated by subsidiary JERAGM, a JV between JERA (67%) and EDF Trading (33%) in France.

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