"'Japan and India have stepped up their
protests against paying an “Asian
premium” on their LNG imports and have
agreed to establish a multilateral group of
LNG buyers to push for lower prices.
Ministers from the two countries released a statement
on Monday ahead of the Japanese government-hosted
2nd LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo which
started on 10 September.
“Japan and India, as major LNG-consuming countries
in Asia, will work together towards the development of a
market environment that would enable effective, stable
and globally competitive LNG procurement,” India’s
minister of petroleum and natural gas, Marpadi Veerappa
Moily, and Toshimitsu Motegi, the head of Japan’s Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said.
Both governments also indicated that they will ask other
current and future Asian LNG importers, including South
Korea and Singapore, during the conference to join the
planned Multilateral Joint LNG Study Group.
Japan’s LNG imports were 16% higher in the first seven
months of 2013 compared with the corresponding period
in 2011, as the country’s utilities had been forced to
turn to LNG to replace lost nuclear power capacity. The
country’s average LNG import costs also rose by 23%
over the same period in 2011 to $16.23/MMBtu in 2013.
However, the Japanese government’s plan to loosen its
monetary policy to weaken the Japanese yen against the
US dollar and make its exports more competitive has in
turn put more pressure on the import bill.
Average LNG import costs rose by 43% in domestic
currency terms in the first seven months of 2013
compared with the corresponding period in 2011.
India’s own currency issues, which saw the rupee fall by
20% against the US dollar over the past four months,
have significantly weakened the ability of its state-owned
importers of LNG and other fossil fuels to compete''.
Source: ICIS
protests against paying an “Asian
premium” on their LNG imports and have
agreed to establish a multilateral group of
LNG buyers to push for lower prices.
Ministers from the two countries released a statement
on Monday ahead of the Japanese government-hosted
2nd LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo which
started on 10 September.
“Japan and India, as major LNG-consuming countries
in Asia, will work together towards the development of a
market environment that would enable effective, stable
and globally competitive LNG procurement,” India’s
minister of petroleum and natural gas, Marpadi Veerappa
Moily, and Toshimitsu Motegi, the head of Japan’s Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said.
Both governments also indicated that they will ask other
current and future Asian LNG importers, including South
Korea and Singapore, during the conference to join the
planned Multilateral Joint LNG Study Group.
Japan’s LNG imports were 16% higher in the first seven
months of 2013 compared with the corresponding period
in 2011, as the country’s utilities had been forced to
turn to LNG to replace lost nuclear power capacity. The
country’s average LNG import costs also rose by 23%
over the same period in 2011 to $16.23/MMBtu in 2013.
However, the Japanese government’s plan to loosen its
monetary policy to weaken the Japanese yen against the
US dollar and make its exports more competitive has in
turn put more pressure on the import bill.
Average LNG import costs rose by 43% in domestic
currency terms in the first seven months of 2013
compared with the corresponding period in 2011.
India’s own currency issues, which saw the rupee fall by
20% against the US dollar over the past four months,
have significantly weakened the ability of its state-owned
importers of LNG and other fossil fuels to compete''.
Source: ICIS
