Japan's JOGMEC Renamed in Shift to National Decarbonisation Role

Yuka Obayashi
Monday, November 14, 2022

State-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) said on Monday it has been renamed Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security and will provide equity investment to back the production and storage of hydrogen and ammonia. 

The change for the organization in charge of providing financial support for the exploration and development of energy and metals reflects the revision of the JOGMEC Act to help the country achieve its 2050 goal of carbon neutrality. 

To secure a stable supply of hydrogen and ammonia, seen as key to the decarbonized fuels of the future, JOGMEC will either invest in or provide a debt guarantee to businesses producing and storing hydrogen and ammonia both domestically and broad, it said in a statement. 

Other new functions include geological surveys for offshore wind power generation, equity investment in carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) projects and domestic processing and smelting projects of rare metals. 

Equity investment in overseas projects exploring large-scale geothermal power generation will be possible from April. Despite the name change, the company will continue to be known by the "JOGMEC" abbreviation in English, given its recognition in resource-producing countries since its establishment in 2004, the company said. 

JOGMEC, which had 770 employees as of July, plans to boost staffing to meet its expanded role, an official at the organization said, without giving a specific figure. 

Resource-poor Japan has also been stepping up measures to reinforce energy security with the growing risk of supply disruption to key energy and commodities as Russia continues its war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow escalate. 

JOGMEC will be allowed to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) on behalf of utilities when normal procurement by private companies becomes difficult, under a plan approved by the Cabinet last month. 

(Reuters - Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Categories: Energy Industry News Activity Asia People & Company News Decarbonization

Related Stories

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Ventura Offshore’s Semi-Sub Rig to Keep Drilling for Eni in Asia

Russia Targets 2028 for Sakhalin-3 Gas Project Start Up

Hanwha Ocean's Tidal Action Drillship Starts Maiden Job with Petrobras

PV Drilling Takes Ownership of Noble Corporation’s Stacked Jack-Up Rig

Hanwha Ocean Enlists ABB for Singapore’s First Floating LNG Terminal

Aquaterra Energy Nets Subsea Analysis Contracts with INPEX off Indonesia

Current News

Russia's Lukoil Takes Up Gunvor’s Offer for Foreign Assets

How Hot Is Your Cable? Understanding Subsea Cable Thermal Performance

Sponsored: UAE Breaks Ground on GW-Scale Renewable Energy Hybrid

Pertamina Joins Petronas in Ultra-Deepwater Asset off Indonesia

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com