Japanese trading and investment house, Marubeni, and compatriot Osaka Gas are joining forces with Peru LNG, the operator of the 4.45 mtpa liquefaction plant at Pampa Melchorita, to study synthetic methane production in Peru.
In that regard, the partners have signed a joint study agreement to analyze and evaluate the feasibility of synthetic methane production in Peru and its sales to the potential markets including Peru and Japan, according to a Marubeni statement.
Methanation is a technology that produces methane, the main component of natural gas, through a synthetic reaction of green hydrogen produced from renewable energy and CO2 extracted from industrial facilities.
Since existing gas infrastructure and facilities can help produce synthetic methane, methanation has “great potential to achieve carbon neutrality” in the gas industry, Marubeni said.
In addition, the Japanese government announced the Sixth Strategic Energy Plan in October 2021, and in order to reach carbon neutrality in the gas industry, they plan to start injecting more than 1 percent of synthetic methane into Japan’s gas lines by 2030 and expand it to 90 percent by 2050.
Through this agreement, the three companies would jointly analyze and evaluate the feasibility of methanation project in Peru, where renewable energy is abundant, according to Marubeni.
Marubeni has a 10 percent stake in the Pampa Melchorita plant. Also, US-based Hunt Oil holds a 50 percent operating stake in the LNG plant while SK and Shell have 20 percent, each.
