The Italian company Eni will talk to Japan about LNG supply, says the executive

Italian energy company Eni is in talks with Japan to supply it with liquefied natural gas (LNG), Cristian Signoretto, head of Eni’s global gas and LNG portfolio, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Sunday.

“We are already dealing with Japanese customers in the short term and we would like to extend this cooperation in the long term,” Signoretto said, adding that Eni plans to bring more LNG volumes to – into the market, including from Indonesia, and that he wants Japanese financial institutions to support certain projects.

Eni plans to increase its LNG portfolio to 18 million metric tons per year by 2027 and would be willing to commit part of it to Japan if the opportunity arose, he said.

Mr. Signoretto said it was too early to comment on the details of the talks, including whether Eni would want terminal covenants, which are obligations in contracts that the buyer would not re- sell the gas to third parties.

In recent years, more and more Japanese buyers have requested shorter contracts without destination clauses, as this allows Japanese buyers, the world’s second largest LNG importer, to -world, stay flexible and resell LNG.

“Flexibility will be part of the discussion,” Mr. Signoretto said, without elaborating.