With Japan looking to steer clear of risky energy tie-ups with neighboring Russia, its allies could help to fill the country’s LNG needs for 2030 and beyond. Since Russia found itself on the wrong end of Western sanctions, Japan has been looking to wind down its exposure to Russian LNG. In December, Japan’s Mitsui and Co decided to pull its employees out of Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 LNG project, and sanctions prompted Novatek to declare a force majeure over LNG supplies from the project.
Last year, Japan’s industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, spoke out in favor of more flexible contracts and specifically against the destination clause, which prevents switchig the final buyer. In the past, Qatar’s LNG buyers have been agreeable to such strict terms in exchange for Qatar’s reliability. But Qatar’s shrinking footprint in Japan’s LNG market could be an indication that it can no longer rest exclusively on offering its LNG buyers reliability.