TOKYO (Web Desk/Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates will supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan as Abu Dhabi's ADNOC Gas said on Thursday it had signed a five-year deal with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (Japex), in continuation of the trend of different nations opting for long-term agreements to ensure energy security.

The deal is valued at between $450 million to $550 million, ADNOC Gas said, without providing LNG volumes or timing for the shipments start.

Earlier, the ADNOC last month announced a 14-year $7 billion to $9 billion deal with Indian Oil Corp to supply 1.2 million metric tonnes of LNG per year.

At the same time, GAIL (India) Ltd is close to finalising a long-term LNG import deal with Qatar to buy at least 1 million metric tons per year, potentially for more than 20 years.

The agreement between the Emirati and Japanese entities follows Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to the UAE and other Gulf states in July, which focused on securing energy supplies for Japan, which remains highly dependent on oil and gas imports.

ADNOC has previously said that Japan imports approximately 25 per cent of its crude oil from the UAE, making the country its largest international importer of oil and gas products.

The deal comes as the developed countries are rushing to secure their energy needs after the Ukraine war which has disrupted the supply due to the sanctions against Russia.

It means energy security [as well as food security] have become the topmost goals for the nations around the world amid persist inflation and global economic slowdown. However, the developing and underdeveloped nations can’t keep up with the higher costs for imported fuels unlike the developed economies which are able to afford the inflated prices and provide relief to their people back at home.