Japan reassured of stable gas supplies from Brunei
Posted: 14 November 2009 1515 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Brunei reassured Japan at a bilateral summit here on Saturday that it will receive stable long-term supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the sultanate, a Japanese foreign ministry statement said.

Brunei accounts for about 10 per cent of Japan's LNG imports. Japan has virtually no energy resources and relies heavily on imports from the Middle East for its oil and gas needs.

"I seek your cooperation in the supply of liquefied natural gas and the development of our friendly bilateral ties," Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit here, the statement said.

Bolkiah, who is also prime minister of Brunei, replied that "we have had a good relationship in the past two decades on the supply of LNG, and there will be no problems with supply in the future," the statement said.

Japan annually imports 60 million tonnes of LNG from economies led by Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. It has made efforts to diversify its sources of energy.

- AFP/sc