Tokyo Gas Focusing on More Investment Opportunities in the US

(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo Gas Co. will look for more opportunities to invest in the US, following a series of acquisitions it’s already made in the country. 

Japan’s biggest gas utility will hunt for a variety of potential investments, not limited to upstream sectors like shale gas and renewable energy, Tokyo Gas President Shinichi Sasayama said in an interview. The company will consider midstream targets, like marketing and trading assets, as well as battery projects, he said. 

“Among our overseas businesses, North America is an especially important growth market for us,” Sasayama said. Investments that can withstand volatility and be profitable will be the focus, he said. 

Tokyo Gas, which garnered attention in late 2024 after activist Elliott Investment Management unveiled a significant holding, has made substantial investments in the US over the last couple of years. Its US subsidiary bought Rockcliff Energy II LLC, a natural gas company in Texas, in late 2023 for about $2.7 billion, in a move to expand its shale gas operations. The company also acquired a 49% stake in Arm Energy Trading LLC, a gas marketing and trading firm, last February. 

The renewed focus on the US comes as President Donald Trump, who was sworn into office on Monday in Washington, pledges to expand domestic fossil fuel production and impose trade tariffs. That’s prompted policymakers in South Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere to consider buying more American energy to get on side with the new administration.

Asked whether Japanese LNG importers, including Tokyo Gas, should follow a similar strategy, Sasayama said the utility would have to assess whether contracts met key criteria, like price and flexibility.

“If the projects have good conditions including price, then the US could be a very important supply source option,” he said. But if “the price is really expensive, then we may select other sources,” Sasayama said, adding that Tokyo Gas would monitor the impact of Trump’s energy policies.

Activist investor Elliott, which reported a 5% stake in Tokyo Gas in November, wants the utility to sell down its multi-billion dollar real estate portfolio that has little apparent overlap with its core energy business. The Japanese company said later that month that it would consider a variety of measures to unlock the value of assets with low capital efficiency. 

Tokyo Gas will continue to focus on what it calls ESG-oriented real estate development, which could, for example, involve adding renewable power to enhance its properties, Sasayama said. “Combining real estate assets with an energy system that promotes resilience will increase the value of that property or land,” he said.  

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