Qatargas to expand Japan LNG trade

Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s minister of energy and industry, chairman and MD of Qatar Petroleum, and chairman of Qatargas, addressed the annual Qatargas reception held in Tokyo.
Highlighting the strong and lasting partnership between Qatar and Japan in the LNG trade, Al-Sada said: “We in Qatar are very proud of the very reliable LNG exports to Japan over the past 15 years which has allowed us to effectively participate in the security of energy supply to our valued Japanese customers. The LNG trade remains the backbone of our relations with Japan in the energy sector, not only in terms of value but also in terms of significance since Japan was the founding importer of LNG from Qatar which is by far the largest exporter of the product in the world today.”
He said: “I’m glad to state that we have successfully delivered more than 1,600 cargoes to our Japanese customers. Today our excellent relationship is a testament to our commitment where we continue to demonstrate flexibility and reliability to deliver LNG to wherever it is needed.”
Al-Sada thanked Qatargas’ Japanese partners, shareholders, financial institutions, contractors and service providers for contributing to Qatargas’ success, and reaffirmed Qatargas’ continued commitment to place the highest priority on maintaining safe and reliable supply of LNG to Japan.
Commenting on Qatargas’ relations with its Japanese customers, Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatargas CEO said: “Japan, its people and our customers are very important to us and Qatargas is doing all we can to support Japan’s requirement for stable supplies of energy, especially in the aftermath of the earthquake and resulting tsunami, which struck Japan in March 2011. We have committed to deliver an additional 20 million tons (MTA) of LNG to Japan over a period of several years to support Japan’s increased energy requirements.”