Japan interested in imports of Russian LNG, including from Yamal; awaits signals from EU
AMSTERDAM. May 19 (Interfax) - Japan, the world's biggest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), is interested in importing LNG from various projects in Russia, the deputy head of Tokyo Gas' office in Paris, Takao Kasumi, told Interfax.
Japan, which is awaiting the arrival of LNG from the U.S., has currently paused talks on LNG purchases due to the situation in Crimea as it awaits signals from the EU that could affect the global gas market, he said.
But Japan is also considering Russian LNG imports from Sakhalin Energy under the Sakhalin-2 project, the planned Vladivostok LNG plant and the Yamal LNG plant now under construction, Kasumi said.
It takes approximately five days to ship LNG from Sakhalin to Japan, compared with 15 days for LNG from Yamal shipped on the Northern Sea Route and 45 days if the route through the Suez Canal is used, he said.
Kasumi said he suspects the Yamal LNG exports will be hampered by sea ice and acknowledged that LNG from a third line at the Sakhalin-2 plant was potentially more appealing for Japan, particularly since much of the required infrastructure is already in place. So far there has been no final investment decision on construction of a third line at Sakhalin-2.
