Japanese energy firms believe LNG is still "cornerstone fuel"

Usage in Tokyo alone hit 60m cubic metres.

Japanese gas consumption hit record levels in January. Tokyo Gas reported that usage in the capital city reached over 60 million cubic metres, according to a release by Gastech.

Japanese government forecasts predict that the demand for natural gas in the country will fall due to the shift in the balance of energy consumption.

Over the last two years, Japan has imported around 88 million tons of LNG, but current government calculations show that this figure is expected to fall to 60 million tons by 2030. As a result, a growing number of Japanese businesses are diversifying in order to ensure continued growth.

Here's more from Gastech:

Leading Japanese energy company, Tokyo Gas, plans to expand its global presence. As one of Japan’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers, the company has recently announced a number of international projects, including an exchange agreement that will enable the energy provider to reduce shipping times and costs, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PT. Miura Indonesia to establish a strategy for industrial and commercial customers in Indonesia.

Shigeru Muraki, Executive Adviser of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd comments “With the global energy sector moving towards a greener future supported by the Paris Agreement in 2016, I strongly believe LNG will continue to play a significant role in Japan’s future.”

The generation of renewable energy has accelerated, but how the existing grid system will accommodate the influx, and the reliability of this energy generation method is yet to be confirmed. While demand management and digitalization technologies will support the grid system, natural gas will still have to be one of the major sources of energy to accommodate the fluctuation in the supply of renewables.

Muraki continues, “Oil will peak by 2030, and demand for natural gas will increase in the next two decades because of new markets and new sources of energy. Governments will veer away from the installation of new coal fire power stations as they will be very difficult to maintain both financially and politically, especially in light of the push to end global warming.”