Alberta Looks to Export LNG to Japan Amid U.S. Tariff Row

Alberta is looking to bring Canadian LNG to Japan as Canada’s oil and gas-producing province seeks alternative export routes for its energy amid tariff threats from the U.S. Administration.

This week, Rebecca Schulz, Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, is holding meetings with industry and trade associations in Tokyo to discuss Canadian energy exports to Japan. At one of these meetings, Schulz discussed “the critical importance of Canadian LNG to Japan’s energy security.”

“As Japan shifts from away from coal, reliable LNG from Canada will reduce emissions while strengthening economic ties between both nations,” Schulz posted on X.

Canada will have its first LNG export project up and running this year—LNG Canada is close to shipping its first cargo.

Alberta needs to find more export routes for its energy, Schulz told Reuters in an interview published on Thursday.  

“Given what we’ve seen in the United States, this is reinforcement that we need to diversify our export markets, and Japan, our already existing relationship, is going to be a key area of focus,” the Alberta minister told Reuters.

Alberta has advantages over the U.S. in terms of geography—the Alberta-Japan route for LNG and other energy exports is much shorter than the U.S. Gulf Coast-Japan route, Schulz said, adding that the province also presents “less geopolitical risk” than the U.S. currently.

Alberta is working on four or five projects for additional export capacity, Schulz told Reuters.

“We are looking forward to receiving shipment from LNG Canada but we want to diversify our energy sources so there is more that needs to be done from Canada,” Yuya Hasegawa, Director of Energy Resources Development Division at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, said during the meetings in Tokyo this week.  

While Alberta is on a charm offensive in Japan, U.S. President Trump is set to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru later this week and could discuss potential Japanese support for a planned $44-billion LNG export project in Alaska.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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