Qatar Ships 3,000th LNG Cargo To Japan

Qatari gas exporter Qatargas announced on July 16 the shipment of its 3,000th cargo of LNG to Japan since starting deliveries to the country more than two decades ago.

The milestone shipment was made by Al Jasra, a 135,000-m³ conventional LNG carrier, and was received by Jera, a joint venture between Japanese importers Chubu Electric and Tokyo Electric. It was unloaded at Jera's Kawagoe LNG receiving terminal near the city of Nagoya.

Qatar delivered its first batch of LNG to Japan on January 10 1997. Today Qatargas has supply contracts in place with several key Japanese buyers, including Jera, Tohoku Electric, Kansai Electric, Chugoku Electric, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Shizuoka Gas. The company also makes deliveries to Japan on a spot basis.