Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Mitsubishi Collaborate to Produce e-methane in the USand Transport It to Japan, Utilizing Cameron LNG in Louisiana
November 29, 2022
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (TG), Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (OG), Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (THG) and Mitsubishi
Corporation (MC) have entered into an agreement and commenced to conduct a detailed joint feasibility
study on a project to produce synthetic methane (e-methane) in Texas or Louisiana, liquefy it at theexisting Cameron LNG facility, and transport it to Japan utilizing other existing infrastructure, including
LNG ships and receiving terminals in Japan. The targeted e-methane production volume is 130,000
tons per year1 to start in 2030.
This project is in line with the Japanese government’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, for which
it is crucial to introduce carbon neutral gas that can meet the heat demand in the country. e-methane canbe transported via the existing gas infrastructure and combusted in the present gas appliances without
enormous costs of replacing or modifying them, which would be required to introduce other decarbonizedgaseous energy carriers, such as hydrogen. Therefore, the government supports e-methane initiatives
as a potential solution to transition into the net zero society smoothly, and it has been discussed
intensively how to initiate and develop e-methane supply chain in Japan’s Public-Private Council for thePromotion of Methanation, an organization established in June 2021, where TG, OG, THG and MC haveparticipated.
For e-methane’s better visibility, it is effective to promote the synthetic methane in Japan and overseas
simultaneously and important to establish cost-competitive e-methane supply chain from overseas whererenewable power is accessible at low cost. While the four companies are respectively conducting
feasibility studies on various locations for e-methane outside Japan, they have selected areas near to theexisting Cameron LNG facility as most suitable as of now for e-methane production by their joint venture.
This decision was made in light of accessibility to the infrastructure for feedstock procurement and highpossibility of achieving early establishment of the supply chain. The four companies will continue to
conduct feasibility studies on other promising locations to expand its e-methane procurement capabilities
for enhanced energy security of Japan.
The four companies intend to accelerate the detailed study to realize the world’s first large-scale
production and international supply chain of e-methane while working to achieve a carbon neutral
economy in Japan utilizing e-methane.
1 130,000 tons is equivalent to 1% of the total annual city gas demand of TG, OG, and THG combined.

Overseas (The U.S.)
The four companies’ JV（+ local partner ※1）

Renewable power(development by JV
or procurement fromexternal sources)

H2 production(construction &operation)

e-methane
production(construction &operation)

Japan
TG, OG, THG

MCLiquefaction at
the existing
Cameron LNG
facilityInternationaltransportationby existing
LNG ships

Transportation & distribution byexisting city gas infrastructures

H2O

H2Industrial water or
Water desalination

CO2 fromemitters orpipelines※2TG

80 million Nm3-CH4/yearOG

60 million Nm3-CH4/year

THG

40 million Nm3-CH4/year

Total

180 million Nm3-CH4/year*＠2030

Procurement from external sources※1 Local partners to be considered as necessary※2 H2 procurement from external sources to be assessed(both blue & green H2 in initial production period)≒130k ton-CH4/year*Equivalent to 1% of city gas demands for TG, OG and THG

Candidate Areas for Detailed Feasibility Study
Texas and Louisiana, the candidate states for e-methane production sites in this study, have a highpotential for sustained availability of abundant renewable energy and easy access to the existing
Cameron LNG facility, of which MC owns equity. Furthermore, existing pipelines of carbon dioxide andhydrogen are also accessible.

Project Schedule
The four companies intend to start with onsite surveys for securing a project site and procuring
feedstocks, namely renewable power, water, hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and initiate the discussions
with relevant administrative authorities and industrial companies. The four companies expect to finalize
the detailed joint feasibility study by the end of fiscal year 2023 based on the results of onsite surveys
and discussion on the rules and systems necessary for the development of e-methane supply chain.
The project aims for FEED entry in 2024, FID in 2025, first e-methane production in 2029 and thecommencement of export to Japan in 2030.

Introduction and wide use in Japan of e-methane produced overseas requires the certificates of origin todifferentiate e-methane from natural gas, internationally-recognized accounting rules of carbon
emissions from e-methane combustion, and economic incentives for production and utilization of emethane. The four companies plan to cooperate with stakeholders in the U.S. and Japan to promote thecreation of necessary rules and systems in line with the project schedule.
Through this initiative, TG, OG, THG and MC will further promote the introduction and wide use of emethane to steadily contribute to the enhancement of Japan's stable energy supply and the realizationof carbon neutrality in 2050.