Kuala lumpur: Malaysia's state-owned energy company Petronas has reached an agreement to supply 2 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japanese power company JERA under a 20-year long-term contract.
According to Thai News Agency, the agreement will come into effect from 2028 onwards, a period in which Japan is accelerating its domestic energy stockpiling to cope with the global shortage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) resulting from the war in Iran. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi revealed during a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that, amidst the highly volatile global energy situation, cooperation with Malaysia, a consistent supplier of LNG to Japan, has become exponentially more important.
The Malaysian leader is currently on a three-day official visit to Tokyo to hold discussions with senior Japanese government officials and industry leaders. Petronas LNG Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Petronas, further announced that it will use new-generation gas tankers with a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters to deliver the energy under the agreement. Meanwhile, JERA, Japan's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer and a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, stated that this contract will allow the company to better manage and cope with fluctuations in LNG demand in the market.
Trade data from the Japanese government indicates that Japan currently imports approximately 15 percent of its total liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Malaysia, making Malaysia the second largest supplier to Japan after Australia. Furthermore, the Japanese leader revealed that both countries have agreed to cooperate to ensure a secure supply of raw materials for fertilizer production and to strengthen the supply chains of essential minerals critical to industry.
The joint statement from both governments further indicated that Malaysia and Japan will cooperate to promote the use of the ringgit and yen in bilateral trade to stimulate trade, as well as expand cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the semiconductor industry, nuclear energy, defense, and joint maritime security projects.