Japanese utilities Jera and Tohoku Electric Power, buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Sakhalin-2, can secure alternative supplies if flows are interrupted, executives said, amid U.S. pressure to end energy imports from Russia.
The United States this month urged Japan, along with other Russian energy buyers, to stop imports as it pushes the Kremlin towards ending the war in Ukraine. Japan’s long-term contracts with Sakhalin-2 cover about 9% of its LNG imports.
Jera gets about 2 million metric tons of LNG per year from the project under two contracts ending in 2026 and 2029. Jera is also a major LNG trader, handling a total of 30 million tons to 35 million tons of LNG annually both for domestic use and to re-sell elsewhere.