Osaka Gas signed today the Heads of Agreement (HOA) for a purchase of LNG from North West Shelf. On the basis of the agreement between Osaka Gas and the six equal participants in the North West Shelf Venture (Sellers), Osaka Gas plans to purchase LNG for a 6-year period starting April 2009 for an approximate annual volume of 500,000 tons. Upon the signing of HOA, Osaka Gas and Sellers plan to proceed with their negotiations for an execution of a sale and purchase agreement.

The planned purchase will be an addition to the existing North West Shelf Expansion LNG Contract with Sellers, bringing the total purchase quantity to approximately 1.5 million tons per annum. The planned new purchase is expected to contribute significantly to a stable supply of LNG to Osaka Gas for the period after 2009.

North West Shelf Venture is a major supplier of LNG with its natural gas liquefaction plant located in Karratha in Western Australia with the maximum production capacity of about 16 million tons annually in 2009 and onwards, supplying LNG mainly to Japan, Korea, and China.

Overview of HOA

1.	Signing parties: Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Buyer) and the six equal participants in the North West Shelf Venture; BHP Billiton Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd; BP Developments Australia Pty Ltd; Chevron Australia Pty Ltd; Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd; Shell Development (Australia) Proprietary Limited; and Woodside Energy Ltd (Operator)
2.	Contract duration : 6 years after April 2009
3.	Contractual annual volume: approximately 500,000 tons
4.	Deliver term: Ex-ship (Seller delivers LNG cargoes to receiving terminals of Osaka Gas)

About Osaka Gas
Osaka Gas is one of the largest gas utilities in Japan with its headquarters in Osaka, having the customer base of about 6.7 million in the Kansai region. The company purchased the total of about 6.8 million tons of LNG from the following countries (numbers in million tons): Australia (1.04), Brunei (0.83), Indonesia (2.88), Malaysia (0.94), Oman (0.68), Qatar (0.42) in FY2005.