3 Japan trading houses mull participation in Venezuela LNG project

TOKYO, Sept. 20 Kyodo -
Mitsubishi Corp. and two other Japanese trading houses are considering
participating in a Venezuelan liquefied natural gas project led by a Venezuelan
state-run petroleum company, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
Mitsubishi, Mitsui & Co. and Itochu Corp. are expected to take a combined stake
of up to 20 percent in the project, which is worth over 1 trillion yen, the
sources said.
The three companies will seek to obtain sales rights to provide LNG to Japanese
electric power companies, they said.
In the project, to become operational in around 2014, the Japanese firms will
construct such facilities as pipelines, liquefying facilities and port
facilities for exports, according to the sources.
Major oil companies from the United States and Europe are also expected to join
the project.
The move by the Japanese companies came after Indonesia, the top exporter of
LNG to Japan, unveiled a plan to cut its exports to Japan to meet growing
domestic demand.
Japanese companies have been seeking to diversify regions for the supply of LNG
to secure stable supplies for Japan amid intensifying competition in the world
for natural resources, analysts said.