Japan's Shizuoka Ties up with Indonesian Firm
Japanese Shizuoka Gas has further expanded in the southeast Asian natural gas market by entering into a business alliance with an Indonesian upstream producer, Mitra Energi Persada (MEP), it said July 18.
Shizuoka Gas has acquired 7.5% of MEP's issued shares and will work to expand sales of natural gas for industrial customers in and around South Sumatra province. The company expects demand for power to expand on the back on the region's rising population and increasing income.
The Japanese firm is already present in Singapore and Thailand. In Indonesia, it said it will also pursue new business opportunities which will support developments of decentralised energy infrastructure in the archipelago and encourage more efficient and environmentally-friendly use of energy.
Shizuoka Gas is one of the 211 city gas distributors in Japan. Its business area covers 10 municipalities between Tokyo and Nagoya. Currently, it supplies city gas to approximately 300,000 customers in seven cities and three towns, including Shizuoka and Fuji. Its gas sales in January-May 2017 of 0.6bn m3 were 1.5% lower year on year.
Shardul Sharma