More Than $600 Billion Is at Stake as Japan Probes LNG Deals
- Contracts to 2040 for about 1 billion tons may be restricted
- Fair Trade Commission findings may be announced this year
Tokyo Gas Co.'s liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks stand in Tokyo, Japan.
Photographer: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/BloombergJapan’s probe into whether the resale restrictions in most of its liquefied natural gas contracts violate fair trade laws may lead to the renegotiation of more than $600 billion worth of deals that run until almost the middle of the century.
The world’s biggest buyer of the fuel has agreements for at least 1.46 billion metric tons of supply between next year and 2040, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Removing contracts that either don’t bar resale or originate in countries that traditionally don’t restrict reselling leaves about 1.03 billion tons linked to agreements that may include the limitation, worth 66.6 trillion yen ($628 billion) at last year’s average price.