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☆ Japan to stop building unabated coal power plants, PM Kishida tells COP28
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Thaier Al Sudani Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Japan will stop building new coal power plants that do not have emission reduction measures in place, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Friday. "In line with its pathway to net-zero, Japan will end new construction of domestic unabated coal power plants, while securing a stable energy supply," Kishida said. Japan will also try to decrease its reliance on currently operational coal plants, he said, without elaborating further. The official, who declined to be named, said Japan may build abated coal power plants should the technology emerge. About 25% of Japan's electricity was generated by nuclear power in 2010, a year before a giant earthquake and tsunami caused a triple-core meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and initially displaced some 470,000 people.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Al Sudani, Kishida, Ember, Sakura Murakami, Ekaterina Golubkova Organizations: Japan's, United Nations, Change, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Dubai, United Arab, Japan, United States, China, India, Tokyo

☆ Taiwan aims to shed dirty power reputation with big wind push: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WIND POWERED GROWTHSolar power was Taiwan's largest source of renewable energy generation in 2022, with 10.69 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity produced, compared to 3.53 TWh from wind. In comparison, fossil fuels generated 239 TWh of Taiwan's electricity last year, Ember data shows. REGIONAL REPERCUSSIONSDespite jitters from some developers, overall progress on Taiwan's wind projects continues, and new investments in major offshore ventures were announced just this month by Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. The continued construction of Taiwan's renewable energy capacity has repercussions for both its domestic power sector and for global fossil fuel export markets. The country's famed semiconductor industry, the world's largest, is aiding the national push for greater renewable energy generation, and has set itself a goal of being powered by 100% green energy supplies by 2040.

Persons: Thomas Peter Acquire, Gavin Maguire, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, China, Global Energy Monitor, Japan's, Mitsui, Co, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, Pingtan, Fujian province, China, LITTLETON , Colorado, Asia, South Korea, Japan, India, Taipei, Beijing, Kpler

☆ Ammonia to supplement LNG in Japan's decarbonization efforts: JERA Global CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAmmonia to supplement LNG in Japan's decarbonization efforts: JERA Global CEOYukio Kani, Chairman and Global CEO of Japan's Energy for a New Era (JERA) discusses Japan's diversification away from LNG as it works to create new energy options.

Persons: Yukio Kani Organizations: JERA, Global, Japan's Energy Locations: Japan's, LNG

☆ Factbox: China's incumbent and upcoming LNG traders
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Chen Aizhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged towards a thermal power station in Futtsu, east of Tokyo, Japan November 13, 2017. Below is a list of China's main gas traders and their operations globally, according to information from company sources and traders. In May, PCI became the first Chinese firm to gain long-term access to gas storage at a European gas terminal. CNOOC also plans to create a London desk in the coming year or two, following PCI and Unipec. Sumitomo Corp (8053.T), which has a desk to trade piped gas in London is considering expanding into LNG trading, said a company spokesperson.

Persons: Issei Kato, Keith Martin, Wang Bingsi, CNOOC, Norinco, ENN, Chen Aizhu, Yuka Obayashi, Florence Tan, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PetroChina International, PCI, London, Gazprom, China National Offshore Oil Company, Gas Co, ENN, LNG, Beijing Gas, Zhejiang Energy, Zhejiang Energy Zhejiang Energy, Exxon Mobil, Mexico, China Gas Holding, China Gas, JOVO Energy, Privately, SOUTH, Mitsubishi Corp, Marubeni Corp, Tokyo Gas, Korea's SK E, Sumitomo Corp, Thomson Locations: Futtsu, Tokyo, Japan, London, Singapore, Beijing, Dubai, Houston, Sinopec, China, Jiangsu province, ENN, U.S, Hebei, Shenzhen, CNOOC, Zhejiang Energy Zhejiang, Zhejiang, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, HK, Guangxi province, Yantai, Shandong province, Guangdong, Guangzhou, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, Asia

☆ Japan's Nomura Q1 profit soars on strong domestic stock market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We had a market tailwind," Chief Financial Officer Takumi Kitamura told a media briefing. Nomura's April-June profit came in at 23.33 billion yen ($163.42 million) versus 1.696 billion yen a year earlier, when fears of slowing global economic growth hit financial markets and forced investment portfolio writedowns at the Japanese firm. In contrast to the strong gains at the retail business, Nomura's wholesale division, which houses its investment banking and trading businesses, posted a pretax profit of just 2.1 billion yen, down sharply from 25.3 billion yen a year earlier. The Bank of Japan's relaxation of its cap on bond yields last week could also be "a major tailwind" to its business, as it is likely to increase market volatility, he said. ($1 = 142.7600 yen)Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Takumi Kitamura, Nomura's, Kentaro Okuda, Kitamura, Makiko Yamazaki, Himani Sarkar, Mark Potter Organizations: Nomura Holdings Inc, of, Energy, NTT Group, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

The world’s advanced economies have committed to phasing out coal over the next seven years. But not Japan, which stands alone in insisting it can make coal less damaging to the planet. Nowhere is that more evident than at the nation’s largest coal-fired power plant in Hekinan, a small city in central Japan where 400,000 tons of jet-black piles are spread across a plot the size of 40 soccer fields. Starting next spring, Jera, the company that owns the site, wants to demonstrate that it can blend ammonia — which does not emit carbon dioxide when burned — with coal in its boilers. The use of this new technology is prompting a debate over whether it is better to find cleaner ways of using coal, or to scrap it as soon as possible in favor of renewable energy.

Locations: Japan, Hekinan

But the lure for OCI and others of making ammonia with a smaller carbon footprint is a business with potential beyond the farm. is the question, and I think it's a good question," OCI CEO Ahmed El-Hoshy told Reuters, when asked why his company is betting on producing so-called "blue ammonia." But even with U.S. support, blue ammonia economics hinge on further government incentives. If utility premiums don't emerge, OCI plans to use its Texas blue ammonia to make fertilizer in The Netherlands, where the company has under-utilized its plants due to high natural gas prices. OCI's Texas plant, to start production in 2025, will produce 1.1 million metric tons annually.

Persons: Ahmed El, Hoshy, Alexander Derricott, TD Cowen, JERA, Yara, Stephan Werner, Werner, Katrine Petersen, Petersen, Chris Bohn, Oystein Kalleklev, Harald Fotland, Fotland, Rod Nickel, Yuka Obayashi, Anna Driver Organizations: Reuters, OCI, REUTERS, Group, CF Industries, Gulf, CF, Yara, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Nutrien, Investors, Germany's DWS, International Maritime Organization, Flex LNG, Avance, Victoria Klesty, Thomson Locations: Beaumont , Texas, U.S, Texas, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, United States, El, OCI's Texas, Gulf Coast, Winnipeg , Manitoba, Oslo, Tokyo, Bengaluru

"Japan may not need LNG for 20 years ... but other Asian countries need to replace coal with something and LNG will play an important role," he said, adding that JERA could supply fuel to those countries likely to need it. "We don't view LNG demand just for Japan, but for Asia as well," he said. Last December, JERA signed a key deal with Oman LNG to buy up to 12 cargoes, or about 800,000 tonnes a year for a decade, beginning from 2025. Asian spot LNG prices held at 22-month lows in April as demand stayed weak in the key north Asian markets of China, Japan and South Korea. Apart from its integrated gas-to-power business, which covers fossil fuel procurement through power generation, JERA is expanding use of renewable power to decarbonise.

☆ Freeport to restart liquefaction train at Texas LNG export plant this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Freeport LNG, the second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, said on Friday it plans to restart one of three liquefaction trains at its long-idled Texas export plant this week. Liquefaction trains turn natural gas into LNG for export. In a filing with Texas environmental regulators, Freeport said it "anticipates the purge and restart of Liquefaction Train 3 will begin on Feb. 3 with Trains 2 and 1 following sequentially." The Freeport plant shut after a fire in June 2022. Despite the planned Freeport restart, however, U.S. gas futures fell about 3% to a 25-month low on Friday due to forecasts for milder weather in February.

☆ Japan's JERA raises FY22/23 earnings estimate on lower LNG procurement cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Yuka Obayashi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Higher-than-expected profit from its trading unit, JERAGM, and stronger contribution from reselling some of the super-chilled fuel by JERA, one of the world's biggest LNG buyers, when its demand was lower, also boosted its earnings, Yoshida said. The revised guideline is based on an assumption that JERA will not receive the fuel from Freeport LNG, the second-biggest U.S. LNG exporter, by the end of March, according to Yoshida. The LNG company's plant shut after a pipeline explosion on June 8, 2022 and the restart has been delayed. In November, JERA President Satoshi Onoda predicted Freeport would resume a partial operation in mid-December and its shipments to be fully back by March. Despite the delay of Freeport's restart, JERA stuck to its 110 billion loss estimate from the fire, saying lower spot LNG prices are helping to offset an impact from the delay, Yoshida said.

☆ Japan's JERA signs ammonia supply MOUs with Yara, CF Industries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo of JERA Co., Inc., the world's biggest LNG buyer, is displayed at the company office in Tokyo, Japan July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato(Reuters) - Japan’s biggest power generator JERA signed ammonia supply memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with CF Industries of the United States and Norway’s Yara Clean Ammonia Norge AS, as it aims to co-fire ammonia to reduce emissions, it said on Tuesday. Under the MOUs, JERA agreed with Yara and separately with CF Industries to look at the possibility of buying up to 500,000 tonnes of clean ammonia per year for the 20% co-firing operations at the Hekinan Thermal Power Plant Unit 4 in Japan. As part of the agreement, JERA and CF Industries, the world’s top ammonia producer, would study ‘potential supply options, including an equity investment alongside CF Industries to develop a greenfield clean ammonia facility in Louisiana, as well as a supplementary long-term offtake agreement from CF Industries’ Donaldsonville Complex in Louisiana, the U.S. company said separately. Yara and JERA also plan to collaborate on blue ammonia production in the U.S. Gulf and to produce more than 1 million tons per annum, according to a separate statement issued by Yara on Tuesday.

☆ Explainer: How will Japan resolve shipping insurance for Russian LNG imports?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Yuka Obayashi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Japan's Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance told shipowners last week that from Jan. 1 they would stop offering insurance coverage for ship damage caused by war in Russian waters, because reinsurers were withdrawing coverage. Japan receives 9% of its imported LNG from Sakhalin-2, which is owned by Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Japanese trading houses. Loss of supply from Sakhalin-2 could send Japanese power and gas utilities such as JERA and Tokyo Gas Co Ltd (9531.T) scrambling for alternatives. It has had to persuade G7 partners to give it leeway so it could keep importing Russian LNG, and after the Russian government decided in June to seize control of Sakhalin-2, Japanese trading houses had to agree to remain as shareholders of the new Russian operator. read more"The top priority now is to secure marine war insurance," a senior official at the industry ministry said.

☆ Japanese Companies Reach Natural-Gas Deals With Oman, U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Peter Landers | Chieko Tsuneoka | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jera, which has this LNG-fired power plant in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, and two other companies have agreed to purchase over two million tons of LNG annually from Oman. TOKYO—Japanese companies said they reached deals with Omani and U.S. producers for mid- to long-term natural-gas supplies, a move to lock up the fuel after turmoil this year caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The deals signal the renewed importance of relatively stable producers of liquefied natural gas or LNG, including the U.S. Japan is among the world’s largest importers of LNG, alongside China, and relies on the fuel for nearly 40% of its electricity production.

☆ Japanese firms sign multi-year agreements to buy LNG from Oman, U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Yuka Obayashi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Global LNG supply has been tight since Russia invaded Ukraine and cut gas supply flows to Europe, leading European nations to import record amounts of LNG cargoes, straining global supplies and elevating prices. Mitsui and Itochu confirmed signing basic agreements with Oman LNG, but declined to give details. Other Japanese companies were also in talks with Oman LNG about term contracts, a government official told Reuters without naming the firms. If successful, they could take Japan's LNG imports from Oman above 3 million tonnes a year, he added. The agreements with Oman LNG were signed during a visit to Oman by Japanese industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura.

☆ Japan's Mitsui, Itochu and JERA to sign new long-term contracts to buy LNG from Oman -NHK
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Japan's trading houses Mitsui & Co (8031.T), Itochu Corp (8001.T) and Japan's biggest power generator JERA are expected to sign new long-term contracts to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman, NHK said on Tuesday. The Japanese companies are expected to buy a total of about 2 million tonnes of LNG, starting from 2025, through around 10-year contracts, public broadcaster NHK said. The Japanese companies will likely make agree on the contracts on Tuesday and Japanese industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is currently visiting the Middle East, will attend the signing ceremony, NHK said. Japan imported 1.9 million tonnes of LNG in 2021, accounting for 2.6% of Japan's total imports. Other Japanese companies are also in negotiations with Oman to buy LNG, NHK said.

☆ Creators are getting whiplash from Instagram's unpredictable changes in how they can make money — and some are leaning away from the platform
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Creators said the many changes have left them exhausted, with some leaning away from the platform. Instagram creators are tired. "As we build a suite of creator monetization tools, we're constantly learning and testing remains crucial in understanding what offers the best experience. Whether or not ad-rev share will come to Instagram Reels (as is the case on Facebook), however, has not been announced. Instagram isn't the only social platform making sweeping changes to creator monetization tools, either.

☆ Gazprom says European gas prices could pass $3,000 per thousand cubic metres
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JERA president expects U.S. Freeport LNG shipments fully back by March, article with imageEnergy category · November 29, 2022 · 5:39 AM UTCJapan's biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), JERA, expects U.S. Freeport LNG production will resume in mid-December, with its shipments expected to be fully back by March, President Satoshi Onoda said on Tuesday.

LNG prices recently have cooled with Europe's gas storage levels rising to over 90% of target capacity and a slow start to winter. In Asia, however, a declaration of force majeure on gas supplies by Malaysian state-energy company Petronas (PETR.KL) has LNG customers in Japan scrambling for alternative cargoes. A total of 88 tankers carrying 6.27 million tonnes of LNG departed in October from U.S. ports, mostly heading to Europe, the data showed. LNG shipments from U.S. ports fell slightly to 6.27 million tonnes in October, with more cargoes going to Asia, where customers of Malaysian liquefied gas scramble to source alternative supplies. The shutdown of the second-largest U.S. LNG export plant has hit many customers, including Japan's biggest LNG buyer, JERA, which last week said it will book a $751-million loss mostly due to higher purchase costs.

☆ Japan's JERA, IHI to work on ammonia use at Malaysian coal power plants
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Japan's biggest power generator, JERA, said on Wednesday it will collaborate with Japanese heavy-industry manufacturer IHI Corp (7013.T) to explore ways to expand the use of ammonia as a fuel at coal-fired power plants in Malaysia. The two companies have been working together on co-firing ammonia with coal at a large commercial power plant in Japan to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. read moreUnder a memorandum of understanding signed by their subsidiaries, JERA Asia and IHI AP, they will jointly study ammonia co-firing in thermal power plants in Malaysia to contribute to decarbonisation there, JERA said in a statement. JERA can contribute to decarbonisation in Malaysia by working with IHI, which has a record of delivering more than 50% of installed coal power boiler capacity in operation there, it added. JERA is a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power (9501.T) and Chubu Electric Power (9502.T).

☆ Long-Term Deals Help Japan Secure Ample Gas Amid Global Shortfall
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( River Davis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jera, which has this LNG-fired power plant in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, handles about 40% of the country’s annual imports of LNG. TOKYO—Japan imports nearly all of its natural gas and, despite the worst energy crisis in many years, it isn’t facing shortages or out-of-control prices. Its secret is a reliance on long-term contracts for liquefied natural gas, a strategy that had been in decline until recently but now is rebounding in popularity. The world’s largest buyer of LNG is enjoying a moment of validation—at least for now.

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