INPEX : Ashikaga City and Ashikaga Gas Sign Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement

March 15, 2024

INPEX, Ashikaga City and Ashikaga Gas Sign

Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement

Ashikaga City

Ashikaga Gas Co., Ltd.

INPEX CORPORATION

Ashikaga City in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, Ashikaga Gas Co., Ltd. (Ashikaga Gas) and INPEX CORPORATION(INPEX) jointly announced today they entered a comprehensive cooperation agreement wherein Ashikaga City will mutually cooperate with Ashikaga Gas and INPEX to promote regional revitalization through decarbonization projects aimed at turning Ashikaga City into a zero carbon city.

Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement signing ceremony

Joint objectives of agreement

1. To turn Ashikaga City into a zero carbon city
2. To promote regional SDGs
3. To promote decarbonization and sustainable urban development preserving Ashikaga City's natural environment
4. To strengthen regional resilience

1. To promote municipal government
2. To promote regional revitalization in Ashikaga City

Ashikaga City, known for its abundant nature and pristine water, as well as rich cultural heritage, formulated the "8th Ashikaga City Comprehensive Plan" in March 2022 to ensure its abundant local resources are passed along to the next generation. Ashikaga City has actively promoted various administrative and operational activities with the aim of realizing its future urban vision "Ashikaga City - A Proud, Compassionate and Ever-Challenging Town, Connecting the Future to the Next Generation of Children." Ashikaga City will cooperate with Ashikaga Gas, which has long supplied energy to the region, and INPEX, a leading Japanese energy development company, to achieve the joint objectives of the agreement and pursue the creation of a sustainable city.

Ashikaga Gas, a city gas company established in 1911, has been dedicated to ensuring a stable energy supply to the citizens of Ashikaga City and promoting sustainable energy. As a comprehensive energy company supplying city gas, propane gas and electricity, Ashikaga Gas will strive towards achieving a carbon-neutral society by 2050 through promoting energy efficiency measures, local energy production and consumption and low-carbon and decarbonization initiatives. Through this agreement, Ashikaga Gas will leverage its diverse knowledge and experience to support efforts towards realizing a zero carbon city in Ashikaga City as well as contribute to the promotion of regional SDGs, strengthening resilience and conserving the natural environment aiming at contributing to the sustainable development of the region and improving the livelihood of its citizens.

INPEX will provide a stable supply of diverse and clean energy through making its oil and natural gas business cleaner as outlined in its "Long-term Strategy and Medium-Term Management Plan (INPEX Vision @2022 | INPEX CORPORATION)" formulated in February 2022. In this plan, INPEX lays out its long-term strategy towards 2030 and 2050 as well as the company's medium-term business plan, which consists of specific goals and initiatives covering the three-year period from 2022 until 2024, reflecting changes in INPEX's management environment. The company will work closely with city gas business operators to which it supplies wholesale natural gas and implement measures contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases on a global scale alongside its customers by responding to their needs through providing solutions such as carbon neutral gas and other forms of clean energy.

Media Contacts:

Ashikaga City,Regional Revitalization Section Tel) +81-284-20-2261

Ashikaga Gas, Tel) +81-284-41-7191

INPEX, Public Relations Group, Tel) +81-3-5572-0750