JAPAN LNG INVESTMENT

REUTERS - The Japanese government will offer $10 billion to support firms bidding to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure around Asia, the Nikkei business daily said on Monday.

It will allow Japanese firms to bid aggressively for work to build facilities such as LNG receiving terminals and power plants, backed by loans and investments from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and insurance from Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), it said, without citing sources.

Japan's Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko will announce the initiative in Tokyo on Wednesday at the annual LNG Producer-Consumer Conference, the newspaper said, adding that it was part of an effort to build markets in Asia for U.S. LNG.

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Earlier:

2017, October, 13, 12:45:00 JAPAN - INDIAN LNG India will work with Japan to make long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deals more affordable for its price-sensitive consumers, it said on Wednesday, as these two big importers try to secure better prices and concessions from suppliers.

2017, May, 31, 17:35:00 QATAR - JAPAN LNG TALKS Qatar faces rising competition from a tide of new LNG from sources including Australia, which is expected to surpass it as the world's top exporter by 2019.

2017, May, 15, 12:40:00 U.S. LNG TO CHINA The United States welcomes China, as well as any of our trading partners, to receive imports of LNG from the United States. The United States treats China no less favorably than other non-FTA trade partners with regard to LNG export authorizations. Companies from China may proceed at any time to negotiate all types of contractual arrangement with U.S. LNG exporters, including long-term contracts, subject to the commercial considerations of the parties. As of April 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy had authorized 19.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas exports to non-FTA countries.

2017, April, 3, 18:40:00 LNG OVERSUPPLY Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS), Japan's JERA and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) [SASACY.UL] - whose joint liquefied natural gas volumes account for a third of global LNG trade - are attempting to cement a shift in power from producers to importers amid a supply glut that is expected to persist into the early-2020s.

2017, February, 10, 18:40:00 JAPAN'S LNG UP The average price of spot LNG imports to Japan contracted in January 2017 was $8.40/mn Btu, up from $8/mn Btu in December 2016, the ministry of economy, trade and industry (Meti) said February 9, their highest level for two years. But Japan's IEEJ says that prices have now peaked.

2017, January, 9, 18:45:00 IMPORTANT LNG MARKET The LNG market has grown strongly in the last few years. In 2008 the global export capacity was 270bn m³/yr while in 2016 it was around 400bn m³/yr (+150%). The International Energy Agency in 2011 predicted that by 2015 gobal trade would reach 450bn m³/yr. These higher expectations resulted mainly from the aftermath of the Fukushima accident and Asian growth more generally, notably China.

2016, August, 19, 18:50:00 ASIAN LNG IMPORTS UP Five Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, China, India, and Taiwan) accounted for 68% of global LNG imports in 2015. In the first six months of 2016, in total, these five countries only increased their LNG import volumes by 1% (0.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d)), compared to the same period last year. However, higher imports in China and India more than offset declines in LNG consumption in the established markets of Japan and South Korea.