INPEX of Japan announced that it has signed an LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement (LNG SPA) with Chubu Electric to purchase LNG for Naoetsu LNG Terminal, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, which is currently under construction.
Under the LNG SPA, INPEX will, for a period of approximately 5 years from 2013, purchase 17 LNG cargoes (approximately 1 million tonnes of LNG) from Chubu Electric.
INPEX plans to import the LNG produced from the company’s major oversea LNG projects, such as Ichthys LNG Project in Australia operated by INPEX, and establish a “Gas Supply Chain” through INPEX’s domestic pipeline network. In order to secure LNG for the period until the Ichthys LNG Project to start its production, INPEX has executed the LNG SPA with Chubu Electric.
Naoetsu LNG Terminal will start commissioning in August 2013 and commercial operation early next year. After the commercial start-up, INPEX’s natural gas supply chain will be reinforced by the gas which INPEX develops and produces overseas in addition to the gas produced in Japan.
[mappress]