LNG Producer-Consumer Conference 2023 Held

Note: A video of the entire conference will be published on the official web page.

Overview of the conference

LNG-PCC 2023 was the first conference in its over ten-year history that was officially co-hosted by METI and the IEA. The conference held discussions for the purpose of marking a significant step toward the goal of finding specific measures to prevent the expansion and recurrence of an energy crisis through dialogues among IEA member countries, producers, and consumers.

At the beginning of the conference, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan delivered opening remarks. He stated that as LNG is a significant energy source used worldwide, gas producers and consumers need to work together on challenges involved in the future use of cleaner energy. He also showed his expectations that the LNG-PCC 2023 would become a turning point to save the future of energy and the global environment.

At the special session, the Japanese company JERA, the ROK company KOGAS, and JOGMEC released “Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement toward Net-zero (CLEAN)” as a public-private joint effort for methane-gas reduction.

Moreover, the U.S., ROK, Australia, the European Commission (EC), and the Government of Japan signed a joint statement that puts emphasis on the importance of CLEAN, aiming to reduce GHG emissions--mainly in the form of methane gas--from the entire LNG value chain, and they showed a direction that they will further facilitate the efforts for methane gas reduction. In the joint statement, these parties showed their awareness of the significance in reducing methane emissions across the LNG value chain, and stated their commitments to providing support for international public-private cooperation in methane-gas reduction from the entire LNG value chain and to working with LNG producers and consumers globally. METI will strive to support the CLEAN initiative released at the conference to the maximum extent possible.

At the ministerial session, leaders of IEA member countries, gas producers, and consumers explained approaches to utilizing clean LNG as a way to achieve net zero emissions, their expectations for LNG and natural gas in terms of energy security, and their domestic policies for LNG.

Minister Nishimura expressed that participating countries should further accelerate the green transition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and also stated that to this end, they should secure contingency reserves and build new cooperative ties with other countries. Moreover, as Japan’s efforts, he announced a new “reserve” system called “Strategic Buffer LNG,” global efforts to eliminate destination clauses, and NEXI’s new support program for LNG trading business that requires flexible fund raising.

The conference organized the various challenges involved in fortifying LNG security and developing the clean LNG value chain, and based on this, it compiled a chair’s summary as an outcome of the discussions both in the conference and in workshops that Japan and the IEA had previously jointly held in order to in order to determine possible elements of policies that are capable of solving the challenges. In response, Minister Nishimura released “LNG Strategy for the World – Chair’s Summary for the LNG-PCC 2023.” In addition, on July 17, 2023, the IEA issued “Global Gas Security Review 2023” along with the conference.

Taking the opportunity of the conference, Japan and the EU released a joint press release on LNG cooperation. Leading up to the conference, Japan and the EU had proactively discussed expectations for LNG and required global coordination amid the acceleration of decarbonization in response to the current energy situation. As an outcome, the two sides agreed at the conference to develop a structure and specific measures for consolidating LNG security that take into account cooperation with international organizations, enhance the transparency of information on the LNG markets, and advance cooperation hat places measures against methane at the core. Japan will advance cooperation in LNG with the EU as well under the joint press release and another joint statement of the Japan-EU Summit 2023 published on July 13, 2023.

- METI will continue to hold dialogues with stakeholders in producers and private companies and thereby advance efforts for achieving a stable supply of LNG and realistic energy transition.

Related Materials

• Chair’s Summary for LNG-PCC 2023： LNG Strategy for the World(PDF:3,068KB)
• Joint Statement on Accelerating Methane Mitigation from the LNG Value Chain(PDF:78KB)
• Press Release between the European Commission and Japan (July 18, 2023)(PDF:61KB)

Division in Charge

Energy Resources Development Division, Natural Resources and Fuel Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy