JERA Expects Firm LNG Prices as Qatar Repairs Stretch for Years

Japan's largest LNG buyer expects global LNG prices to remain supported as Qatar works to restore damaged facilities and Europe rebuilds inventories ahead of winter.

(Reuters) — Japan's JERA expects liquefied natural gas prices to remain relatively firm in the near term, as restoring Qatar's LNG facilities damaged during the Iran war will take time and Europe needs to replenish stocks ahead of winter, its chairman said.

"Looking over the next year or so, prices may well hold up fairly well and not fall much," JERA Chairman and Global CEO Yukio Kani told a press conference on June 24.

Kani said it would likely take more than "two to three years" to restore some of Qatar's LNG facilities that were damaged by missile strikes.

He also said European LNG inventories remain low and that Europe will need to build inventories ahead of winter.

If Europe follows through on plans to avoid Russian gas imports, it will need to secure additional LNG supplies from the spot market, providing continued support for demand, he said.

JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and Chubu Electric Power, is Japan's largest LNG buyer and top power generator.

The utility is exploring ways to supply electricity to data centers, where demand is expected to grow rapidly, and is collaborating with several operators, Kani said.

A number of data center operators in Japan have shown strong interest in long-term power purchase agreements under a model in which data centers are built adjacent to power plants and supplied with electricity directly, he said.

Discussions are also underway in the United States, Europe and Asia on schemes to meet the near-term power needs of hyperscale data center operators, he added.