First Wheatstone Cargo Arrives in Japan

Japan’s Jera has received the first cargo of LNG from the Western Australia-based Wheatstone LNG project, the company said November 13.

Jera, Japan's largest LNG importer which is a 50-50 joint venture of Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) and Chubu Electric, says it will be the largest buyer of LNG from the 8.9mn metric ton/yr Wheatstone LNG export venture as it has long-term sales and purchase agreements for 5.2 MTPA of LNG from the project.

The cargo, loaded onto the vessel Asia Venture, arrived at the Tepco Fuel & Power Futtsu LNG terminal in Chiba Prefecture on November 12, it added.

“The commencement of supply from the Wheatstone Project will further enhance the stability of Jera’s LNG procurement. Going forward, Jera will continue to respond to changes in the business environment flexibly and achieve competitive procurement by establishing an optimal LNG procurement portfolio,” the company said.

Chevron announced on October 31 that the first cargo had departed from Wheatstone, en route to Jera.

The project began production on October 9 after months of delays. The second train at the two-train project is expected to start-up six-to-eight months after train 1.

Chevron said that a single cargo of LNG from the Wheatstone project could power Japan for around 9 hours.

The Chevron-operated facility is a joint venture between Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (64.14%), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, Kufpec (13.4%), Woodside (13%), and Kyushu Electric Power Company (1.46%), together with PE Wheatstone, part owned by Jera (8%). 

Nathan Richardson