TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Chubu Electric Power <9502.T> said on Monday it has signed a deal with India's GAIL
Rising demand for LNG in Asia, already the top destination for the fuel, has helped push its price to near-record levels and now buyers such as India, Japan and South Korea are trying to find ways to cut their soaring gas import bills.
The two firms had been considering a preliminary deal on joint purchases since January. India, Japan and other Asian countries that together import 70 percent of the world's LNG met in December to discuss forming a buyers' club to get a better deal from suppliers.
State-run Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) <036460.KS> and a Japanese company bought natural gas jointly on Monday and such cooperative purchases will become more common, the head of state-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) said.
Asian prices are at least three times the cost of natural gas in the United States, where a boom in shale oil and gas has sharply reduced prices.
Asian importers say they are charged an excessive premium over other regions because of a practice of linking LNG contracts to oil prices. They also want more flexibility in contracts over ship destinations to free up the market.
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
