Eni inks LNG pact with Japan’s JOGMEC

Eni and JOGMEC signed the deal in Japan on Sunday.

“The memorandum aims to promote the role of gas and LNG in the energy transition pathway, emphasizing the importance of achieving carbon neutrality in the context of economic growth and the protection of energy security,” Eni said in a statement.

This includes LNG supply opportunities by Eni to Japan, it said.

Japan is the world’s second-largest LNG importer after China.

The country’s LNG imports rose slightly in August, logging a year-on-year increase for the fifth month in a row.

According to provisional data released by the country’s Ministry of Finance, the country’s LNG imports rose 1 percent year-on-year to 5.72 million tonnes last month.

Coral North FLNG

In addition to LNG supplies, Eni said the memorandum includes the support of Japanese financial institutions for the Coral North FLNG project in Mozambique.

Eni’s 3.4 mtpa Coral Sul FLNG located offshore Mozambique recently reached 5 million tons of LNG production since its launch in 2022.

Eni discovered Coral back in May 2012 and it operates the Area 4 along its partners ExxonMobil, CNPC, GALP, Kogas, and ENH.

The partners are now working on the second FLNG project offshore Mozambique, called Coral Norte (Coral North).

Coral Norte would be a replica of Coral South.

CLEAN

Eni also said in the statement it supports the Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement toward Net zero (CLEAN Initiative), launched by major Japanese and Korean importers and supported by their respective governments.

The initiative aims to facilitate global assessments of LNG projects and share information and know-how on industry best practices to reduce emissions along the entire value chain.

At the same time, the CLEAN Initiative highlights the commitment of Tokyo and Seoul, the world’s second and third-largest LNG importers, respectively, to the decarbonization challenge, Eni said.