Japan signed its first deal to procure liquefied natural gas in an emergency with Malaysia's Petronas, Japan's industry ministry said on Friday, adding the country would seek similar agreements with other countries.
The master sales and purchase agreement would enable Petronas to deliver LNG to the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security, which would in turn supply private buyers, such as utilities, if they were unable to obtain it elsewhere.
Speaking at a press conference after the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo, Tetsuya Azuma, a director of the Japanese ministry's energy resources development division, did not give further details, such as the volume or contract length.
Petronas Executive Vice President and CEO of gas maritime business, Datuk Adif Zulkifli, said the deal reflected the trust built up with JOGMEC "over many years".
"By establishing a more agile framework for future LNG supply arrangements, we are better positioned to respond to evolving energy needs and contribute to greater supply resilience," he said in a statement.
Japan also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Montenegro on energy projects, including developing an LNG receiving terminal and gas-fired power plant.
The outline deal builds on a memorandum of understanding JERA, Japan's largest power generation company, signed last year with the Montenegrin Government to explore the development of an LNG terminal and an associated gas-fired plant in the country.
Azuma said the new memorandum aimed to support private-sector initiatives to help expand the global market and further Japan's efforts to diversify sources of LNG supply.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Emily Chow, Additional reporting by Ashley Tang, Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Barbara Lewis)
