Regional LNG: Bayu Undan ships first LNG cargo to Japan: Report

A natural gas field situated between Australia and East Timor has shipped its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo, stakeholder and offtaker Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said on Wednesday.

The first LNG cargo from the Bayu Undan field was dispatched on Tuesday and is expected to arrive in Tokyo Bay on Feb. 22, a TEPCO spokesman was quoted by Reuters as saying. He declined to specify the volume.

In January, another stakeholder, Australian oil and gas producer Santos Ltd., said the first LNG from the field would be shipped in early February, about a month ahead of schedule.

The Timor Sea field, operated by ConocoPhillips, holds 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and will eventually pump 424 million cubic feet per day via its processing plant at Wickham Point near Darwin in northern Australia.

Last year TEPCO and Tokyo Gas Co. agreed to buy Bayu Undan LNG from 2006 to 2022. (*)