Japan receives first shipment of shale gas imports from US

Japan has received a shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) derived from US shale on January 6, marking the arrival of US’s first shale gas imports to the country.

A thermal power plant in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, run by Chubu Electric Power Co, received a tanker carrying 70,000 tons of shale-based LNG that was loaded in Louisiana in the US on December 7.

The gas was transported to Japan via the Panama Canal, according to importer Jera Co., a Japanese thermal power and fuel firm set up jointly by Chubu Electric and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.

The expansion of the Panama Canal, completed in June 2016, has made shipments from the US quicker and cheaper.

Japan’s imports of LNG as fuel for thermal power generation also increased sharply due to the suspension of nuclear power plants following the 2011 meltdown at TEPCO’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

The diversification of LNG sources through shale gas imports is expected to ensure stable energy supply in Japan.

Jera plans to import up to 700,000 tons of US LNG by January 2018, while Tokyo Gas Co. also plans to start imports of US shale gas in the fiscal second half beginning in October.