Tokyo Gas in No Hurry to Buy More LNG from Russia Due to Sanctions

Tokyo Gas is in no hurry to buy more LNG from Russia due to sanctions, according to news agency Reuters.

The Japanese gas retailer buys LNG from Sakhalin 2. Japan accounted for almost 82 percent of total LNG sales from Russia's Sakhalin-2 LNG plant last year, which produced 10.8 million tonnes, Reuters stated.

"At this moment, (because) of the sensitivity of the sanctions, probably before some resolution comes out for the sanctions it is a bit difficult for us to make new commitments,” Shigeru Muraki, Tokyo Gas' vice chairman of the board, told reporters.

According to Reuters, Russia plans to add two more LNG plants in the far east of the country towards the end of the decade: Gazprom's Vladivostok LNG and Rosneft's and ExxonMobil's plant on Sakhalin. It also plans to expand Sakhalin-2.

On Wednesday, Japan imposed more sanctions on Russia because of Moscow's involvement in the Ukraine conflict, including banning certain Russian banks from issuing securities in Japan.