Japan Firms Will Invest $10b to Expand Asian LNG Market

Japanese companies will commit $10 billion to finance LNG projects in Asia to support growth of the regional market, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Isshu Sugawara said Thursday.
The investments will be made by both public and private-sector companies and span upstream, midstream and downstream LNG projects, the minister said at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference 2019 in Tokyo, S&P Global Platts reported.
The $10 billion worth of investment follows $10 billion previously committed by the Japanese government two years ago. It comes at a time when oil majors are shifting their business models to become natural gas companies, and Asia is driving much of the LNG demand growth.
Japan would continue to lead the further development of the LNG market and be the springboard for boosting regional energy security through financing and capacity building in the Asian LNG sector going forward, Sugawara said.
Geopolitical uncertainty and its impact on Asia's energy security was a major topic of discussion among industry executives. Japan relies on LNG imports for its entire natural gas supply, and LNG is becoming a bigger contributor to Asia's overall energy mix.
With much of the growth in Asian LNG demand coming from developing regions such as Southeast and South Asia, project funding from traditional sources such as banks is tough due to credit issues. Over the years Japanese energy companies have filled the gap.