Japan's Shizuoka Gas signs deal with China's Clean Energy to supply LNG

Shizuoka Gas

30/01/2019 09:40

* Japan's first term deal to sell LNG via ISO tanks
    * Shizuoka Gas will supply 1,600 tonnes of LNG/year for
2019-2021

    By Jessica Jaganathan
    SINGAPORE, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japanese city gas supplier
Shizuoka Gas Co has signed a binding agreement with China's
Clean Energy to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its
Shimizu terminal in western Japan, the company said on
Wednesday.
    Shizuoka Gas will transport the LNG through so-called ISO
tank containers, typically pressurized tubes that hold the LNG
in its super-chilled state and correspond in size to standard
shipping containers to allow movement by truck, rail and
container ship.
    While some Japanese companies currently distribute LNG
domestically via ISO tanks, this is the first term deal for a
Japanese buyer to sell LNG overseas via ISO containers, said
Edmund Siau, an analyst at energy consultancy FGE. 
    In Japan, only Shizuoka Gas currently has the capability to
re-export fuel by re-loading LNG onto ships.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1RB2A4
    Under the agreement, Shizuoka Gas will supply 1,600 metric
tonnes of LNG a year for a period of three years from 2019 to
2021 to Clean Energy, a fully owned subsidiary of China's Dalian
Inteh Holdings Co, it added.
    Shizuoka Gas said it has been seeking further utilisation of
the terminal since 2017 when it first sold gas from the
reloading facility. 
    LNG supplied from Shizuoka will be delivered to Taishan Gas
Group and Rizhao Public Transport Group in China through Clean
Energy and Ants Energy as an LNG selling company under Dalian
Inteh Holdings, the statement said. 
    Transporting LNG via ISO tanks is usually done on trucks for
small-scale distribution and currently still occurs within
markets such as China and Japan, FGE's Siau said.
    Though limited, there has also been some long-distance sea
borne trade, such as FortisBC's shipments from Canada to China,
he added. 
    "As some buyers are facing an over-supplied situation, they
are looking for diversion or reselling cargoes and China is one
of the potential markets, though China's demand is weak at this
moment," said a LNG trader familiar with the Japanese market. 
    An LNG cargo last loaded from Japan for China in November
2017, Refinitiv Eikon shiptracking data showed. 

 (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; editing by Christian
Schmollinger)
 ((Jessica.Jaganathan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3822; Reuters
Messaging: jessica.jaganathan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;
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