Jera plans winter LNG stock build
The Japanese LNG buyer is looking to avoid a repeat of last year’s supply crunch
Japan’s Jera—the fuel-procurement joint venture (JV) between utilities Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) and Chubu Electric Power—is taking measures to prevent another electricity supply crunch this winter. Jera “will promote additional procurement of LNG... and voluntarily secure and maintain a large LNG inventory throughout the winter season”, in response to "our experience last winter”, the company says. The plans envision increasing inventories to around 2mn t from 1.5mn t for the December-February period. The planned stock build is “unlikely” to risk any knock-on supply crunch, based on the JV’s winter demand outlook. But Jera also called for an “urgent” national discussion on “how to balanc
Also in this section
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 March 2026
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels






