TEPCO to procure 800,000 tons of LNG per year from U.S. from 2017

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the accident-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said Wednesday it plans to procure 800,000 tons of liquefied natural gas annually from the United States from 2017 as part of efforts to cut heavy fuel costs for non-nuclear thermal power generation.

The LNG, including liquefied shale gas, will come from a project planned in Louisiana by a U.S. firm. TEPCO said it has reached a contract of about 20 years with one of the sellers, Mitsui & Co., and is close to reaching a similar accord with the other, Mitsubishi Corp.

With TEPCO planning to secure an additional 1.2 million tons per year of the relatively cheap LNG from multiple supply sources, the company expects to cut fuel costs by about 50 billion yen annually in total.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
.