Wall Street Journal: Project Exporting Gas to Japan Set For Green Light

The partners in a project that will ship natural gas to Japan from Louisiana plan to give the final go-ahead next week after securing $7.5 billion in loans, according to people familiar with the deal.

The final investment decision on the Cameron liquefied natural gas plant will mark a milestone in Tokyo's efforts to secure U.S. energy supplies. It is the first of three U.S. LNG projects from which Japanese companies plan to buy the fuel, which has become central to power generation in Japan since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power accident.

The Cameron project is 50.2% owned by San Diego-based Sempra Energy. Three parties each own 16.6%: Mitsui & Co., GDF Suez SA of France and a joint venture of NYK Line and Mitsubishi Corp.

Ryo Minami, oil and gas director at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said imports from the U.S. would cut Japan's fuel costs and reduce the premium that many Asian nations now pay for LNG compared with the price in the U.S. and Europe.

"The U.S. shale gas revolution will finally spill over to Asia," Mr. Minami said. MORE