Japan and India Launched Research Project to Study LNG Pricing

Japan and India on 10 October 2012 launched a joint research project into pricing structures in LNG markets.

Japan’s industry minister Yukio Edano and Deputy chairman of Planning commission of India  Montek Singh Ahluwalia, signed the agreement on joint research in Tokyo. Resource-poor Japan is on the hunt for cheaper energy, with the situation further worsened by the shuttering of all but two of its nuclear reactors amid public distrust following tsunami-sparked meltdowns at Fukushima

Japan is the world’s top importer of liquefied natural gas. Asian buyers pay far more than those in North America because the price is index-linked to oil on the continent. Under the present pricing structures in LNG markets, the price in North America is determined on the basis of supply and demand.

India's expanding economy  also demand more and more energy keeping this in view both the countries agreed for a research project to study price structure.

About LNG

LNG is gas that is temporarily liquefied for easier storage and transportation. Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas predominantly in the form of methane, CH4 that has been converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport.
Liquefied natural gas takes up about 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous state. It is odorless. Colorless, non-toxic and non- corrosive. Hazards include flammability, freezing and asphyxia.