Inpex CEO Backs Long-Term LNG Contracts as Japan's Buyers Widen Supply Sources
Inpex's CEO says top buyers are prioritizing supply chain security over price, validating a wave of long-term deals stretching from Abu Dhabi to Malaysia.
Major LNG buyers are placing growing value on supply diversification and security across the entire supply chain, and that shift is strengthening the case for long-term contracts, Inpex's chief executive said on Tuesday (2026-09-15), Montel reported. JKM front-month prices stood at $27.22/MMBtu on Thursday (2026-09-17).7
Japan has no domestic gas production of scale and relies on imported LNG for the bulk of its gas supply, giving supply chain risk a direct link to national energy security. Inpex itself has moved to diversify its own exposure. The company reached an in-principle agreement with bp, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, PT PLN Energi Primer Indonesia, and Shell Eastern Trading for a project targeting 9.5 Mtpa of LNG, equivalent to roughly 10% of Japan's total annual imports, Japan NRG Weekly reported.2
JERA, the world's largest LNG buyer, has gone further. The company signed a 20-year supply contract with Malaysia's Petronas for 2 million metric tons per year, starting in 2028, Oilprice.com reported. Malaysia supplies 15% of Japan's total LNG imports, second only to Australia. Petronas separately agreed to supply about 0.84 million metric tons per year to Shizuoka Gas from its global LNG portfolio, Rigzone reported. Taken together, Malaysian volumes committed to Japanese buyers are expanding materially.4,6
JERA had also outlined plans to roughly triple its US LNG purchases to 5.5 million tons per year, a volume that would account for a third of its total intake and a 10% increase on existing American imports, Oilprice.com reported. Whether those volumes have been formally contracted was not specified in available reporting.4
Abu Dhabi has positioned itself as a beneficiary. ADNOC signed a 15-year deal with Inpex in July (2026-07) for 1 million metric tons per year, with supply earmarked from the under-construction Ruwais LNG facility, Rigzone reported. For Inpex, adding Middle Eastern supply alongside Australian and Southeast Asian volumes extends geographic coverage across three distinct export regions.5
Australia, Japan's largest LNG supplier, is where supply risk looks most immediate. In December 2025 (2025-12), the Australian government proposed requiring east coast LNG exporters to reserve between 15% and 25% of output for the domestic market, with three export facilities affected. The scheme takes effect in 2027 and applies only to new contracts, Reuters reported, but analysts said it could reduce available export supply and push buyers toward alternative sources.3
Japan and Australia signed a bilateral energy cooperation agreement on 19 May 2026 (2026-05-19) covering LNG supply chains and critical minerals, Reuters noted. The agreement reflects deep commercial interdependence. But a government-level pact does not change the domestic reservation framework taking effect in eighteen months.1
The Inpex CEO's remarks position the diversification drive as buyer-led rather than seller-imposed. Long-term contracts have traditionally been oil-indexed; a buyer preference for supply security over spot exposure could support above-market contract premiums if sellers price in reduced re-marketing risk. JKM at $27.22/MMBtu on Thursday (2026-09-17) gives both sides a reference point entering those negotiations.7
Still, the ADNOC deal illustrates how long-term security carries execution risk. Inpex's 1 MMtpa commitment depends on a facility that has not entered service; any construction delay pushes that volume into spot or bridge supply at whatever JKM prevails when the gap opens. Ruwais' start-up timing sits alongside Australia's 2027 reservation cut-in as the two near-term dates Japanese LNG procurement desks are watching.5