LONDON,
July 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nippon Steel Corp, the world's second-largest
steelmaker has recently purchased a liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment at the
highest price ever paid in the country amid growing fears of disruptions of LNG
supplies from Russia.
Nippon
bought an LNG cargo for delivery in September at a price of $41 per million
British thermal units , most likely supplied by a major trading house, two
trading sources told Reuters, without giving further details.
"Based
on a standard LNGC (liquefied natural gas carrier) sized vessel, the cargo
would cost between $132 million and $135 million depending on load
tolerance," one of the sources said. This would mark it as the most
expensive LNG cargo ever purchased by the country.
Nippon,
which is Japan's top steelmaker, did not immediately respond to Reuters'
request for comment outside of business hours in Japan.
Resource-poor
Japan faces a historic energy security risk as tensions with Moscow intensify,
heightening the threat of gas supply disruptions at a time when global supply
is tight and spot prices are sky-high.
Competition
to secure LNG cargoes has intensified since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of
Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation. Europe is buying
massive amounts of LNG, further increasing market tightness and elevating
prices.
Japan,
a top LNG importer, relies mainly on long-term LNG contracts, which are usually
much cheaper, but utilities have been forced into the spot market over the past
few months to meet summer cooling demand amid above-average summer temperatures
and concerns over Russian supply.
Russia
has recently seized full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in its
far east, in which Shell and Japanese investors hold just under 50%,
heightening the threat of gas supply disruptions to Japan. (Reporting by Marwa
Rashad; Editing by Paul Simao)