Japan’s Mitsui buys US shale gas asset

Japan’s trading house Mitsui & Co has completed the acquisition of an unconventional gas asset in Texas with access to the US Gulf Coast LNG export terminals and ammonia plants.

Mitsui said in a statement on Monday it has purchased this asset named Tatonka, which has about 46,500 acres, via its unit Mitsui E&P USA from US oil and sas E&P companies, Sabana and Vanna.

The company did not provide further details of the deal.

Mitsui’s unit will drill wells to evaluate the well performance and develop and operate the asset aiming for full-scale development after 2026, it said.

In the US, where demand for natural gas is expected to increase due to the start-up of new LNG projects and growth in demand for electricity, Mitsui is also promoting liquefaction and export of US natural gas to global markets, and methanol production businesses using natural gas as feedstock, the company said.

In addition to proactively pursuing upstream development projects, Mitsui will strengthen the natural gas value chain, including adjacent businesses, and work toward achieving further low-carbon solutions and decarbonization through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and other measures, Mitsui said.

Mitsui says natural gas and LNG are playing an important role as “real solutions” for energy transition, and the company will further promote its global natural gas and LNG businesses.

Earlier this year, Japan’s city gas supplier and LNG importer, Tokyo Gas, and Mitsui joined forces to deliver a bio-LNG cargo from Sempra Infrastructure’s Cameron LNG terminal in the US to Japan.

Mitsui is already a partner in Sempra’s Cameron LNG export plant in Louisiana.

Last year, it also bought a 92 percent stake in an unconventional gas asset in Texas with access to the US Gulf Coast LNG export terminals and ammonia plants.

Besides the US, Mitsui is participating in LNG projects throughout the world, in Abu Dhabi, Australia, Qatar, Oman, Russia, Indonesia, and Mozambique, according to its website.

Most Popular

Yang Ming books LNG-powered containerships in South Korea

Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport has decided to order LNG dual-fuel container vessels from South Korea's Hanwha Ocean as part of its ongoing fleet optimization plan.

Sabah to take stake in Petronas’ third FLNG

SMJ Energy, owned by the Sabah government, has signed a heads of agreement with Malaysian energy giant Petronas to take a 25 percent stake in the latter's third floating LNG production unit.

Japan’s LNG imports drop in June

Japan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports dropped by 2.8 percent in June compared to the same month last year, according to provisional data released by the country’s Ministry of Finance.

More News Like This

Cameron LNG hits new milestone

Sempra Infrastructure, a unit of Sempra, and its partners have shipped the 1,000th cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Cameron LNG export plant in Louisiana since 2019.

Adnoc, Mitsui seal Ruwais LNG supply deal

UAE's Adnoc has signed a 15-year sales and purchase agreement with Japan’s trading house Mitsui & Co to supply the latter with liquefied natural gas from its LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.

MOL’s LNG newbuild named in South Korea

South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean held a naming ceremony for MOL's newbuilding LNG carrier which will serve Mitsui &...

GasLog takes delivery of LNG carrier in South Korea

Greece’s GasLog has taken delivery of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier from Hanwha Ocean in South Korea. According...