TEPCO takes on LNG from Australia

A decision by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to purchase LNG from the Wheatstone natural gas project in Australia is good for development there, said Chevron. Chevron announced that, along with its Australian subsidiaries, it signed sales and purchase agreements with Tokyo Electric Power Co. The deal outlines the delivery of more than 3.1 million tons of liquefied natural gas to TEPCO during the next 20 years from the Wheatstone project. The U.S. supermajor said the Wheatstone project will become one of Australia's largest. The foundation phase envisions a total production capacity of around 8.9 million tons of LNG per year. "The TEPCO agreements and other LNG agreements we are finalizing give Wheatstone great momentum," Roy Krzywosinski, managing director for Chevron Australia, said in a statement. TEPCO is also considering purchasing a stake in the Wheatstone project, Chevron added. After March's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which severely damaged the country's energy sector, Japan took on more natural gas to make up for an energy deficit.