Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) has established a consortium company, Japan LNG Investment (JLI), in the U.S. state of Louisiana together with the Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) to possibly participate in the Cameron LNG (CLNG) project being by promoted by Sempra Energy, GDF Suez S.A., Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and MC.
Through JLI, NYK would participate in the liquefaction business with MC by investing in CLNG, a liquefaction company that Sempra Energy holds. JLI shareholders would have a 16.6% share of CLNG’s business. A final decision on whether to be a part of this project will be made at the beginning of 2014 after various permissions are granted and adequate funds are obtained. A final decision on investment by shareholders is a term for issuing a shareholders agreement in this project.
This is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project operated by CLNG, and the project expense is expected to be about 10 billion dollars for building the plant for LNG operations, funding, investment in existing facilities, and other expenses. Plant construction will begin from 2014 in an effort to begin processing LNG in the latter half of 2017. Production volume is expected to be approximately 12 million tons per annum (mtpa), and this will be taken by Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and MC based on a consignment agreement with CLNG.
Last year, CLNG obtained permission to export 12 mtpa of LNG to countries with which the United States has entered into a free trade agreement (FTA) for the trade of natural gas, and is in currently applying for permission to export to certain countries with which an FTA has not yet been ratified. In addition, the application for the building of the plant has been completed and will be submitted to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the beginning of 2014.
In April 2011, NYK launched its three-year medium-term management plan, “More Than Shipping 2013,” and one of the goals of this plan was for NYK to grow its business by leveraging its know-how in LNG and offshore business activities. By participating in this project and being a part of the LNG value chain, NYK will obtain a deeper knowledge of overall LNG business activities, thus allowing the company to provide better service to its customers.
About NYK
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha is one of the world's leading transportation companies. At the end of March 2013, the NYK Group was operating 846 major ocean vessels, as well as fleets of planes, trains, and trucks. The company's shipping fleet includes 389 bulk carriers, 126 containerships (including semi-containerships), 120 car carriers, 82 tankers, 51 wood-chip carriers, 28 LNG carriers, 18 heavy-load carriers / conventional ships, three cruise ships, and 29 other ships. NYK's revenue in fiscal 2012 was about $23 billion, and as a group NYK employs about 55,000 people worldwide. NYK is based in Tokyo and has regional headquarters in London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, and Sao Paulo.