The government of Oman has signed a contract with three Japanese companies for annual imports of more than 2 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan beginning in 2025, according to Japanese media.
 
Japan's trading houses Mitsui, Itochu and electricity firm Jera will purchase additional LNG from Oman starting 2025 for about 10 years under the signed contracts, according to the Kyodo news agency.
 
Oman's state news agency ONA reported that representatives of the two countries prolonged the agreement on cooperation in the areas of oil, gas, and green energy. 
 
The deal came on a day when Japan's oil and gas explorer Inpex announced a 20-year contract with US Venture Global LNG on supplies of around 1 million tons of LNG to Japan per year. 
 
Japan and Saudi Arabia signed earlier a memorandum on jointly establishing a network to supply new types of energy, such as hydrogen and ammonia. 

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Energy prices have been surging globally in 2021.

After the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the West, gas and oil prices have accelerated their rise, placing energy security high on both the global and national agendas and prompting countries to search for alternative energy sources.