Eneos Xplora acquires 10% stake in Malaysia’s Petronas MLNG Tiga project

Japan’s Eneos Xplora has purchased a 10% stake in Petronas’ Malaysia LNG Tiga project, the state-run Malaysian firm announced on April 30.

The move by Eneos Xplora represents a re-entry into the project. The Japanese energy firm previously held a stake in the project under the MLNG Tiga Joint Venture Agreement. That deal expired in 2023.

Eneos Xplora’s new 10% stake in MLNG Tiga will run for the next decade. The deal marks another move by a Japanese firm to diversify their portfolio across different countries in order to reduce vulnerability to external shocks.

The MLNG Tiga facility, which is located in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, began operations in 2003. The export terminal boasts two liquefaction trains and has a production capacity of 7.7mn tonnes per year (tpy).

“ENEOS’ re-entry into MLNG Tiga reflects shared confidence in the asset’s resilience and long-term role within Asia’s LNG landscape,” Petronas Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer of Gas & Maritime Business, Datuk Adif Zulkifli said in a statement.

 It also reinforces PETRONAS’ focus on building a reliable LNG system that continues to deliver value to customers and partners, particularly in important markets such as Japan,” Adif Zulkifli added.

Eneos Xplora’s re-entry into the project means that two Japanese firms again hold stakes in MLNG Tiga. Mistubishi also possesses a 5% interest in the project.

The move comes as Japan continues to push for greater diversification of its LNG portfolio. The world’s second-largest importer of the super-chilled fuel saw the Middle East conflict that has sidelined supply from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as a wake-up call to the risk of being over-dependent on a few suppliers.

About 6% of Japan’s LNG imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently blockaded by Iran.