Woodside pens LNG cooperation deal with Japan’s JBIC

Australian LNG producer Woodside said it had signed a deal with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) aimed at securing a stable supply of energy for Japan.

Woodside CEO, Meg O’Neill, and JBIC deputy governor, Amakawa Kazuhiko, met in Tokyo on Tuesday to sign the non-binding memorandum of understanding, which aims to promote cooperation in the LNG sector and the development of new energy products and lower-carbon services, according to a Woodside statement.

Under the terms of this deal, the parties would identify potential projects which Woodside may be able to collaborate on with Japanese companies, in the areas of LNG supply, and new energy products and lower-carbon services.

LNG supply projects could include Woodside’s Scarborough project and proposed Browse and Sunrise developments, the firm said.

Also, new energy products and lower-carbon services could include hydrogen, ammonia, carbon capture and storage and carbon capture, utilization and storage, it said.

O’Neill said in the statement that Woodside’s relationships with the Japanese government, customers and business partners date back to the critical Japanese investment in the Woodside-operated North West Shelf project in the 1980s, which included JBIC (then Export-Import Bank of Japan) extending its first ever project financing.

“Japanese buyers underpinned the project by signing long-term gas supply agreements, which began with the first Australian LNG cargo arriving in Japan from the Karratha Gas Plant in 1989,” she said.

The collaborations entered a new phase in 2008 when JBIC signed a loan agreement totaling up to $1 billion with Woodside as part of a co-financing arrangement for the Pluto LNG project.

“This collaboration with JBIC will enable us to continue working cooperatively with our friends in Japan on our shared goals of energy security, pursuing decarbonization opportunities and sustained prosperity for the Asia Pacific region,” O’Neill said.

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