The Japanese government has announced its decision to expand the Japan-South Korea cooperation framework, which aims to reduce methane emissions from natural gas development projects. This announcement was made at a meeting of liquefied natural gas (LNG) producing and consuming countries in Hiroshima. Twenty-two Japanese companies, including Kansai Electric Power Co., Tokyo Gas Co., and Mitsubishi Corp., will join the framework. The member companies on the procurement side will ensure that firms involved in natural gas production make efforts to reduce methane emissions and disclose related information.
Methane is known for its potent greenhouse effect, believed to be more than 20 times that of carbon dioxide. Therefore, addressing leaks of methane from gas fields is crucial. The cooperation framework was initially announced last year by Jera Co., a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. group and Chubu Electric Power Co., along with Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS). Together with the 22 new member companies, Jera, KOGAS, and others handle about 100 million tons of LNG annually, accounting for approximately 25% of the global LNG distribution volume. An annual report will provide information on factors such as the amount of methane emissions from production facilities.
In addition to this expansion, at the same meeting in Hiroshima, Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) signed a memorandum of cooperation with major Italian energy company ENI regarding diversifying LNG procurement sources. Furthermore, Japan and South Korea have agreed to conduct a test on LNG-related cooperation between their private sectors.
these developments highlight ongoing efforts by various stakeholders to address environmental concerns associated with natural gas development projects while also ensuring stable supplies of LNG through international collaboration.