North West Shelf Australia LNG today signed a long-term agreement with Japanese group, Toho Gas Company.
North West Shelf Australia LNG today signed a new long-term agreement with Japanese group, Toho Gas Company.
Under a 10-year contract starting in April 2009, the North West Shelf Venture will supply up to 760,000 tonnes of LNG a year to Toho, tripling Toho's original LNG commitments with the venture.
Toho Gas is the second of the North West Shelf Venture's original Japanese LNG customers to renew its long-term LNG supply requirements this year.
Woodside's North West Shelf Ventures director Dr Jack Hamilton said the venture would remain a significant LNG supplier to Toho Gas, with whom it had established a long and important business relationship and friendship.
"The North West Shelf Venture began LNG deliveries to Toho's Chita LNG terminal in September 1989 and since that time, have delivered more than four million tonnes of LNG to Toho," Dr Hamilton said.
"We highly value our business relationship and friendship with Toho which has tripled their original purchase commitment from the North West Shelf. We look forward to continuing to deliver a safe and reliable supply of LNG from our expanded LNG processing facilities at Karratha in the Pilbara region of Western Australia."
Based in Nagoya, Toho Gas is the third largest city gas provider in Japan, after Tokyo Gas Co.,Ltd., and Osaka Gas Co. Ltd.
Below is an announcement from deputy Prime Minister and minister for trade Mark Vaile:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, today welcomed the announcement by North West Shelf Australia LNG (NWS LNG) and Toho Gas that they have signed a heads of agreement which will see a three fold increase of the Venture's original annual LNG supply to Toho Gas.
" North West Shelf's latest deal to supply a long-term Japanese customer further confirms Australia's reputation as a reliable supplier of LNG," Mr Vaile said.
NWS LNG has enjoyed a strong business relationship with Toho Gas, which has been a foundation customer for more than 17 years. The Venture expects that its total supply commitment to Toho Gas will exceed 1 million tonnes a year by 2009.
" The re-signing of the NWS LNG-Toho Gas deal is proof plenty that Australia's reputation in the Japanese market as a major source of LNG continues to go from strength to strength.
" In 2007, Australia and Japan will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Australia-Japan Commerce Agreement, which laid the foundation for what has become an excellent political and trade relationship with Japan," Mr Vaile said.
Toho Gas is Japan's third-largest utility company, with around 13 million customers. The Company's business is centred on the industrial centre of Nagoya. In 1977, Toho Gas was the first company to introduce LNG to central Japan.
The NWS LNG-Toho Gas agreement follows a series of recent deals between Australian LNG projects and major Japanese utilities. Over the past eight months, Australian producers have announced contracts to sell up to 8 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Japan over the next 25 years.
LNG is Australia's second-largest export to Japan, with sales in 2005 worth up to A$4 billion.
