NEWS
Japan's power duo sign Darwin supply accord
Tokyo, Aug 9 (LNG journal)
- Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Gas Co. said they signed a contract with Darwin LNG, controlled by US major ConocoPhillips, to purchase a combined 3 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per annum from a gas field off East Timor beginning next January.
Japan 's largest electric power and gas companies said they reached an accord that will last for 17 years and will also give both companies flexibility.
Among the terms of the contract, TEPCO and Tokyo Gas will be allowed to ship LNG to locations other than their own facilities under certain conditions. This is intended better to reflect the ongoing deregulation of Japan 's energy market, the companies said.
TEPCO and Tokyo Gas have been involved in the project to develop the Bayu-Undan offshore natural gas field 250 kilometers south of East Timor since March 2002.
Under the contract, TEPCO will buy 2 million tons of LNG a year with the remainder going to Tokyo Gas. Both Japanese companies will arrange for transport using their own LNG ships.
"The agreement is flexible and economical, permitting expansion of LNG transportation destinations beyond the companies' terminals under certain conditions and allowing FOB (Free on Board) as the delivery condition," the TEPCO statement said.
