No change in Japanese gas policy, but public concerned with security

By Benget Besalicto Tnb.

There has been no change yet in the Japanese government?s policy concerning the natural gas energy, despite of the recent earthquake that affected the operations of energy facilities, including nuclear power plants in the country.

?Concerning the natural gas, we see no change so far made by the Japanese government. But actually, it is now hard to predict the government?s policy, particularly on natural gas. We see an uncertainty,? said Koji Takano - a director of the Japanese energy company Tokyo Gas Co - who addressed a breakout session on the gas market during the 12th Gas Information Exchange 2012 (GASEX 2012) in Bali on Thursday.

According to him, what is now clear is that the Japanese people have become more concerned with the security of energy, including the natural gas. ?They do not want a recurrence of energy security problems in the past,? he said.

But he said that recently the nuclear power plant resumed its operations after being closed following the earthquake that had caused a leakage in the nuclear power plant. There is no confirmation whether it is operated temporarily, or it will be operated permanently to meet the power need of Japanese people, who have seen frequent power cuts since the earthquake hit the country recently.

The nuclear power plants accounted for about 30 percent of the total power generation in Japan. Closing the plants for good means that the government has to replace them with other alternatives, including gas-fired power plants.

Japan is one of the largest consumer of gas in Asia, with its total consumption in 2011 reaching more that 100 billion cubic feet. So far, its gas need has been supplied by producers in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, but recently it is seeking long term contracts from the US, where shale gas production is now abundant.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana