Japan's TEPCO not renewing Alaska, Indonesia gas contracts: Report

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc has decided not to renew long-term agreements to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Alaska and Indonesia when they expire in 2009, the Nikkei reported, without citing sources.

Each year, Japan's largest electric utility firm procures 920,000 tons from an Alaskan project and buys another 130,000 tons from the Arun site in northern Sumatra, accounting for more than 6 pct of its total imports, the business daily said.

The Alaskan and Indonesian projects began production in 1964 and 1984, with current agreements there ending in March and December 2009, respectively, it said.

TEPCO is now seeking to obtain stable long-term supplies while diversifying its geographical risk, it said.

Last year, the firm began importing 2 mln tons of fuel annually from an Australian project and from 2008, it is scheduled to buy 1.5 mln tons of LNG a year from Russia's Sakhalin 2 project, the report said. (*)