Japan’s LNG surplus adds to Asian glut

Utilities must resell more volumes at the worst possible moment

Declining domestic gas demand in Japan is leaving Japanese utilities with a growing surplus of LNG. Clearing the excess is an unenviable task in today’s oversupplied market.

A new paper from IEEFA finds that Japan’s largest utilities — JERA, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, and Kansai Electric — are likely to face an over-contracted position of roughly 11 million t…