Petronas to observe Japan ruling on LNG destination clause -Nikkei

TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The top executive of Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, said the Malaysian state energy firm "will observe" a ruling by Japanese regulators that sellers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) should not force restrictions on reselling LNG cargoes, the Nikkei business daily said on Wednesday.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) ruled in late June that new long-term LNG contracts signed with Japanese buyers could not have destination restrictions - clauses that mandate where a cargo can be delivered and limit buyers from reselling excess gas.

"We intend to do our best to observe the recommendations of JTFC," the paper quoted Petronas Chief Executive Officer Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin as saying in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Malaysia ranked second after Australia in Japan's LNG import volumes last year, supplying over 15 million tonnes to the world's top LNG buyer, Japan's Ministry of Finance data showed.

Removing the destination clauses would radically alter the Asian LNG marketplace. Sellers have insisted on the measures for years, and may ask buyers to make concessions in return for removing destination constraints.

Nikkei added Wan Zulkiflee implied that prices would be higher for contracts with no resale restrictions to third parties.

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)