JERA raises stake in Australia's Wheatstone LNG after buying out JOGMEC holding

By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Japan's top power generator JERA said on Wednesday it had bought the entire stake held by the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) in a Japanese consortium that holds interests in Australia's Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project.

• JERA bought JOGMEC's 42.08% stake in Pan Pacific Energy (PEJ), boosting its holding to 50.1% from 8.02%. The transaction was completed on October 2. Mitsubishi Corp 8058.T and Nippon Yusen 9101.T remain shareholders in PEJ.

• A PEJ subsidiary's interests in Wheatstone remain unchanged at 10% in an upstream gas field development and 8% in the LNG liquefaction project.

• Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• JERA said the acquisition would support its strategy of securing stable and competitive LNG supplies. Japan's biggest LNG buyer procures about 5.2 million metric tons a year from Wheatstone, one of its main supply sources.

• Australia remains a strategically important LNG supplier for JERA, which said it would continue diversifying procurement across the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and the United States.

• JERA, jointly owned by Tokyo Electric Power 9501.T and Chubu Electric Power 9502.T, said earlier this year it would sell its 0.417% stake in Australia's Gorgon LNG project to MidOcean Energy and its 0.735% interest in the Ichthys LNG project to Inpex 1605.T.

• ($1 = 158.4500 yen)