Qatargas will supply an additional 200,000 tonnes per annum of additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan, the company said on Wednesday.     

The agreement between Qatargas, Chubu Electric and Shizuoka Gas, where Qatargas will supply LNG for five years from 2016, was announced at the Petroleum World Congress being held in Qatar.

The announcement did not specify how much Chubu Electric and Shizuoka gas are paying for the additional supply.     

With many of Japan's nuclear power facilities still shut down after the March earthquake on the main island of Honshu, the country's power companies have had to boost their gas purchases to supply power and electricity to make up for the shortfall.

An executive of Japan's Chubu Electric Power Co said that Japan will need an additional three to four million tonnes per annum of gas in 2012.     

Japan imported more than 70 million tonnes of LNG in 2010 from Australia, one of its biggest suppliers, as well as from Malaysia, Indonesia and Qatar.  - Reuters