Former chair of Japan’s largest gas utility says Australian LNG supply disruption could have a ‘huge impact’

The former chairman of Japan’s largest gas utility has called on Australia to provide Japan “with a stable supply” of LNG. Those comments come amid escalating uncertainty for the sector, which has in recent weeks been spooked by a Federal Court decision overturning a key approval for Woodside Energy’s Scarborough project, and a Federal Government-produced strategy for the sector that some analysts believe is too little, too late given recent market interventions. Michiaki Hirose — whose five-year stint as chair of Tokyo Gas began in 2018 — told The Australian Financial Review on Friday the utility has more than 12 million users in the Tokyo metropolitan area, about half of whom are serviced by Australian LNG. He argued that “if there is a problem with the supply from Australia, it will have a huge impact on economic activities and people’s lives in the Tokyo metropolitan area”. “We would like Australia to continue to provide us with a stable supply,” he said. While he did not directly criticise the Federal Government’s gas policies, Mr Hirose joins a litany of Japanese officials — including Japan’s ambassador in Australia, Shingo Yamagami, and Institute of Energy Economics head Tatsuya Terazawa — to express concerns with the reliability of Australia’s gas export industry. Energy Minister Chris Bowen has repeatedly tried to play down the country’s concerns and in August reassured the country that Australia was “here to stay” on energy. Mr Hirose was quoted as saying he did not share the concerns of Japanese oil giant Inpex, which in March accused the Government of “quiet quitting” gas. “Inpex is an upstream company, so there may be other concerns, but we are a downstream user, and I am not worried about the reliability of Australia’s LNG,” he said. “Australia has really been working hard to ensure a stable supply of LNG for us.” Elsewhere in the report, Mr Hirose was quoted as saying gas use would “continue until (about) 2050” and that investment in coal, gas and iron ore would continue concurrently with investment in hydrogen, ammonia and wind power.