Brunei will supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan Petroleum Exploration Co Ltd 1662.T (JAPEX) from April as the country aims to expand trading with Japan, its biggest LNG importer, to stabilise its revenue, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

Farida Talib, Chief Executive Officer of Brunei LNG, the country’s solo producer of LNG, told the Nikkei about a new contract with JAPEX, the paper said.

A spokesperson of JAPEX confirmed that the Japanese energy company has a contract with Brunei LNG, but declined to discuss further details.

Brunei LNG is 50% owned by the government of Brunei, while the rest is equally owned by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp 8058.T and Shell.

Brunei is Japan’s sixth biggest supplier of the super-chilled fuel, accounting for 5.8% in 2021. Japanese buyers include Tokyo Gas Co Ltd , Osaka Gas Co Ltd and JERA.

“We will continue to scrutinize whether there are any mutually beneficial contract opportunities,” the Nikkei quoted Talib as saying, underlining an interest to strike deals with Japanese companies other than JAPEX.

Brunei LNG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Emily Chow Editing by Tomasz Janowski)