The Japanese government may approach foreign banks to help finance pledged investments in U.S. natural gas production that are part of Tokyo’s trade deal with the Trump administration, agreed last year.
“If financing from foreign banks materialises, it should further facilitate the procurement of foreign-currency funding needed to implement the investment initiative,” the Japanese finance ministry said in an X post, as quoted by Reuters.
The publication reported earlier this month that JP Morgan and other U.S. lenders were close to sealing a deal for participating in the investment initiative. According to the Japanese finance ministry, loans provided by foreign banks could be guaranteed by the country’s export credit agency, NEXI. Part of the money for the infrastructure investment projects would be provided by Japan’s state-backed Bank for International Cooperation.
The U.S. and Japan sealed a trade deal last summer, featuring a reduction in proposed tariffs—from 25% to 15%—on Japanese imports and a $550-billion Japanese investment pledge for the U.S. economy. Japan also pledged under the deal to expand market access for American goods, including cars, agricultural products, and energy.
Of the total $550 billion in pledged investments, some $33 billion will be committed to natural gas, including for the construction of the largest natural gas power plant in the world, with a capacity of 9.2 GW, according to earlier reports. The investment package will also fund the construction of a deepwater oil port in the Gulf.
“This project is expected to generate $20–30 billion annually in U.S. crude exports, secure export capacity for our refineries, and reinforce America’s position as the world’s leading energy supplier,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the time. The facility would have a daily capacity of 1 million barrels of crude, boosting U.S. oil export capabilities.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
