RoydadNaft –  Japan’s leading city gas supplier, Tokyo Gas, plans to allocate more than half of its 350 billion yen ($2.3 billion) overseas investment budget over the coming three years to the United States, CEO Shinichi Sasayama announced in an exclusive interview.

Sasayama highlighted North America—particularly the US—as the company’s top priority for global expansion, driven by surging domestic gas demand fueled by data centers, semiconductor manufacturing, and rising LNG exports.

The move builds on Tokyo Gas’s recent aggressive push into US shale gas. In late 2023, the company acquired Texas-based Rockcliff Energy for $2.7 billion, and earlier this year purchased a 70% stake in east Texas natural gas assets from Chevron.

“In recent years, we’ve focused upstream investments in East Texas shale to improve cost competitiveness,” Sasayama said. “Moving forward, we’ll develop these assets further to enhance profitability.”

The utility is also considering additional investments in US liquefaction facilities or long-term LNG purchase agreements, depending on favorable terms.

On the company’s exposure to Russian LNG via a long-term contract for 1.1 million tons annually from the Sakhalin-2 project, Sasayama expressed confidence in supply continuity. A US sanctions exemption for the project is set to expire on December 19, but he described the risk of immediate disruption as “quite low,” noting ongoing consultations with the Japanese government.

Tokyo Gas sourced nearly half of its 11.56 million tons of LNG imports in the fiscal year ended March 2025 from Australia, with diversified supplies mitigating potential risks from upcoming market reviews there.

The strategy aligns with Tokyo Gas’s broader plan, announced in October, to invest up to 1.3 trillion yen through March 2029, underscoring its shift toward securing stable, growth-oriented energy assets amid global demand shifts.