Japan’s LNG Buyers in no Rush to Secure Spot Cargoes: Platts

Japanese LNG buyers are not rushing to secure spot cargoes despite potential strikes at the 16.9m mtpa North West Shelf LNG project, a key supplier, according to Platts.

• Any near-term impact would likely to be limited since Japan is now heading into the lower demand shoulder months season.
• "Even if the strike goes ahead at NWS' natural gas and liquefaction facilities leading them to suspend LNG production immediately, Japan would have limited impact on its LNG supply and demand balance unless such outage lasts for a long time," said Takayuki Nogami, chief economist at Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security, or JOGMEC.
• Japanese buyers are also holding out from taking any action until there is more clarity on whether strikes will in fact take place.
• "We cannot act now based on expectations [when nothing concrete has been decided]," a Japanese importer told S&P Global Commodity Insights.