Osaka Gas aims to keep annual LNG handling volume at 11.5 MMt

Japanese city gas provider Osaka Gas aims to maintain annual handling volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at 11.5 metric MMt in the fiscal 2030 year, an executive said on Thursday.

One of Japan's biggest LNG buyers, Osaka Gas said on Tuesday it had signed an initial  long-term agreement with UAE's ADNOC for the delivery of up to 800,000 tpy of the super-chilled fuel.

Its LNG handling volume, including imports for its own demand, wholesale and trading, stood at 11.5 MMt in fiscal 2023 that ended on March 31 this year vs. 3.5 MMt in 1990.

"We aim to maintain the current handling volume through 2030 even though domestic demand may decline," Takenori Fujita, Osaka Gas' executive officer, told reporters. Tokyo Gas plans to start LNG bunkering in fiscal 2026, he said.

The 2023 volume included 6 MMt of imports for domestic demand, 3.5 MMt for wholesale and 2 MMt for trading.

The utility initially procured the fuel only for its own needs, but expanded its handling volume by owning vessels and starting wholesale operations, Fujita said. The volume increased further with the start of commercial operations at U.S. Freeport LNG, in which Osaka Gas has an equity stake, and through expanded trading activities, he said.

Freeport is the second-largest U.S. LNG exporter.

Japan, the world's second-largest LNG importer, stepped up imports of the fuel after the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 led to closure of its nuclear power reactors. Tokyo has also increased participation in LNG projects globally to secure supply.

But the comeback of nuclear power and the roll-out of renewable energy have led resource-scarce Japan to cut LNG imports for its own needs.

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