Mitsubishi Corporation announced that November 4 is the day that Japan will celebrate 50 years of LNG imports, as Mitsubishi Corporation acting as a buyer’s agent, started receiving LNG in 1969 from the Alaska LNG Project with Phillips Petroleum, today’s ConocoPhillips as a seller.
The company highlights that LNG and natural gas demand is expected to further increase in the coming years, mostly in the developing countries, such as the use of LNG fired power plants to compliment power supply fluctuations of renewables which is rapidly growing throughout the world.
Therefore, in celebration of the 50th year anniversary of the introduction of LNG, the four companies are hosting “The Ceremony for the 50th Anniversary of LNG to Japan” on November 6th, 2019.
In light of the ceremony, Toshihiro Sano, chairman of JERA commented
Since its beginnings with the Minami-Yokohama thermal power station, LNG thermal power generation in Japan has steadily expanded thanks to the supports of local residents and other parties involved, and today plays an indispensable role in supplying the nation’s electricity.
Tokyo Gas president Takashi Uchida, noted that in order to pave the way for “the next 50 years” as responses to climate change are now being demanded globally, Tokyo Gas aims to take on new challenges such as further extensive utilization of natural gas and reduction of CO2 emissions through the combination of LNG and renewable energy.
In late August, Japan achieved another milestone as it received what was considered to be Japan’s first LNG cargo from China since 1988, when the Japanese government started publishing import and export figures.
Concluding, Wood Mackenzie stated that there is a possibility that China could surpass Japan as top LNG importer by 2022.
