Japan’s Mitsui plans stakes in Middle East LNG projects

Japanese trading and investment company Mitsui & Co is reportedly planning to invest in LNG projects across the Middle East, the US and Australia.

The company is looking to take equity stakes or secure offtake agreements and is seeking global expansion in its LNG business as AI data centre buildouts increase energy demand, its CEO Kenichi Hori told Bloomberg News.

Hori said that Mitsui, which is backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is considering further investment in the Middle East.

It currently holds a 10 percent interest in the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s Ruwais LNG export facility through a subsidiary.

The Ruwais project, which is under construction, has an annual production capacity of 9.6 million metric tonnes and is scheduled to commence production in 2028.

The Middle East region “will remain the major supply source of energy. That won’t change”, Hori said, despite the ongoing Iran war.

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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began has cut 20 percent of the world’s oil and LNG supply.

Last week QatarEnergy extended a force majeure notice to Italian energy company Edison from early July to mid-August and has cancelled five additional LNG cargoes.

Iranian attacks in March knocked out nearly 17 percent of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, with QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al-Kaabi estimating annual revenue losses of $20 billion for the country.

Qatar’s Ras Laffan is the world’s largest LNG export hub, accounting for about 20 percent of global supply.