Mitsubishi Makes Haynesville Shale Grab

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Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR Energy Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Mitsubishi pays $5.2 million for U.S. natural gas acreage. Japan, with few resources of its own, has been on a streak of U.S. asset purchases.

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Mitsubishi Thinking LNG

Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi (Tokyo, Japan) said its acquisition of acreage in the Haynesville shale play will give it an advantage in the natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sectors.

"By acquiring cost-competitive gas assets, we will build a natural gas value chain that addresses global energy challenges such as increasing energy demand and the transition to decarbonization," the company said late Thursday.

Mitsubishi said it expected to close on a $5.2 billion deal to acquire the holdings of Aethon Energy Management (Dallas, Texas) no later than June. Aethon's assets are located primarily in the Haynesville Shale, which straddles the border of Louisiana and Texas. The Haynesville produces about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas.

"Haynesville is a major supply source of natural gas for the growing southern U.S. market and offers favorable access to multiple LNG export terminals, including Cameron LNG, where Mitsubishi holds liquefaction capacity rights under a tolling agreement," the Japanese company said. "Aethon's natural gas is currently sold in the U.S. southern market, and part of this volume is being considered for export as LNG to Asia, including Japan, as well as to Europe."

The U.S. Department of Energy in a January report said it expected the Haynesville play to churn out 17.4 Bcf/d this year, which would mark a 9.4% increase from year-ago levels, should the forecast prove accurate.

That would make it the fastest-growing inland shale natural gas basin in the U.S. Mitsubishi added that the assets acquired from Aethon would be the equivalent of about 15 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) in LNG deliveries.

By the Numbers

• Mitsubishi pays $5.2 billion for stake in the Haynesville Shale
• 15 million metric tons per annum in equivalent LNG
• 9.4% increase in Haynesville gas production expected

Is Japan Ready?

Japan has few natural resources of its own and relies heavily on imports of fossil fuels to meet conventional energy demand. From U.S.-sourced LNG, Japan last year was the largest non-European importer.

A December report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found the Asian appetite may be easing, however. Its analysis found that Japan has seen LNG imports decline 20% since 2018. A planned increase in renewable energy, the revival of Japan's nuclear power sector after the Fukushima Daichi disaster in 2011, and higher LNG prices are likely to send demand even lower.

Tokyo Gas Company Limited (Tokyo, Japan) in November sold off its entire stake in subsidiary TG Natural Resources to Grayrock Energy (Dallas, Texas) for $255 million. The subsidiary acquired assets primarily in the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana from Range Resources (Fort Worth, Texas) in 2020.

In explaining the sale, Tokyo Gas said it was working to "optimize its asset portfolio and enhance overall capital efficiency." In October, however, the company signed a non-binding letter of intent to take 1 MTPA of gas in the liquid form from the proposed Alaska LNG facility, led by Glenfarne Alaska (Houston, Texas).

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Database can learn more about Alaska LNG --including capacities, investment values and necessary equipment--in a detailed project report.

Rival Japanese energy company JERA (Tokyo), meanwhile, was the high bidder with about $1.7 billion offered for GEP Haynesville II, a joint venture between midstream operators Williams Companies (Tulsa, Oklahoma) and Blackstone-backed GeoSouthern Energy (The Woodlands, Texas).

The joint venture was a spinoff of the defunct Chesapeake Energy, which dumped about 50,000 acres in the Haynesville Shale after filing for bankruptcy in 2020.

U.S. and Japanese ties improved in the wake of the July 2025 announcement of a new bilateral strategic and investment agreement. The agreement resulted in a lowering of U.S. tariffs on Japanese imports from 25% to 15% in exchange for $550 billion in Japanese investment commitments.

Greeted by full military honors during a visit last year, U.S. President Donald Trump declared this to be the "golden age" of bilateral ties with Japan.

Key Takeaways

• Mitsubishi follows peers into U.S. market
• "Golden age" for U.S.-Japanese ties
• Haynesville among the few gas basins expecting a production gain

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About IIR News Intelligence
IIR News Intelligence is a trusted source of news for the industrial process and energy markets, powered by Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI).

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR News Intelligence) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).