Head Of Tokyo Gas In Brunei
By Khairunnisa Ibrahim

Bandar Seri Begawan - The president of one of Brunei's biggest liquefied natural gas clients, Tokyo Gas, was here yesterday for a one-day working visit to the sultanate and to pay a courtesy call on the Minister of Energy, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya.

Mitsunori Torihara arrived in the country on Sunday and yesterday called on the minister at the Petroleum Unit of the Prime Minister's Office in Jalan Menteri Besar.

Torihara, accompanied by an entourage of officers and company representatives from Japan, discussed various matters with the minister in a closed-door meeting.

The visit was intended to reciprocate the visit by the minister to the company's headquarters in Japan, according to a source in the Brunei Liquefied Natural Gas (BLNG), who declined to be named.

Pehin Dato Yahya conducts annual calls to BLNG's biggest customers, which includes Japan's Tokyo Electric and Osaka Electric as well as Korea Gas Corporation in South Korea, the source added.

This is the second such trip made by the president to Brunei. The first was in 2003 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of relations between Brunei and the company.

Tokyo Gas, established in October 1885, began importing LNG from Brunei in January 1973.

The company employs more than 8,000 workers and supplies and sells, among other things, city gas, gas appliances and related construction as well as electricity.

The Petroleum Unit, established in June 1982, was previously known as the Oil Unit under the State Secretariat before its relocation to the Prime Minister's Office.

According to its official website, the unit is responsible for regulating and overseeing matters between the government and existing and potential oil and gas concessionaires.

Other domestic responsibilities of the unit include ensuring that all activities carried out are within the terms and conditions agreed, and follow current internationally accepted standards.

On an international scale, the Petroleum Unit acts as the government's representatives to meetings and negotiations between BLNG and Japanese and Korean buyers. It also participates in various international petroleum-related meetings on behalf of the government.

LNG, produced from Brunei's oil fields, is processed at the BLNG plant in Lumut, Belait. In 2005, Brunei exported 206 B-class cargoes' worth of LNG, the bulk of which (98 per cent) went to Japan while the rest were supplied to Korea.

This figure is likely to be higher in 2006.

According to the Brunei Darussalam Key Indicators 2006 provided the Department of Economic Planning Development, in 2006, Brunei exported 1,010,804 MMBtu of LNG per day in the first half of 2006, surpassing that of the previous year. In 2005, only 977,397 MMBtu of LNG was exported per day for the whole year.

One MMBtu, or million British thermal units, is equivalent to 293 kilowatt hours. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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