Osaka Gas is looking to invest in more U.S. gas-fired power plants, as the boom in artificial intelligence and data centers heralds a surge in demand for reliable energy supply.

The company is eyeing existing assets as building new facilities can be challenging due to an ongoing global shortage of gas turbines, President Masataka Fujiwara said in an interview this week.

¡°An enormous number of data centers are being built in the U.S. right now ¡ª in short, there¡¯s a shortage of electricity,¡± Fujiwara said. Population growth will also contribute to an organic increase in energy demand, he added.

The needs of U.S. tech firms looking to expand their data facilities are set to account for nearly a tenth of total U.S. power demand by 2035, outpacing demand from electric vehicles and other sectors, and gas is expected to serve about 65% of that, according to BloombergNEF.

Osaka Gas already has stakes in several gas-fired power plants in the U.S. The 120-year old company, which is a major provider for Japan¡¯s western region, is looking to expand its overseas businesses.

It acquired Sabine Oil & Gas in 2019 as an inroad to American shale gas development, and expects it to produce an equivalent of 3.8 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this fiscal year ending March. Sabine¡¯s production will be gradually increased by cycling through assets in the Texas region, meaning older fields will be replaced with those with more reserves, the president said.

The company became the first Japanese firm to enter India¡¯s city gas distribution business in 2021, when it invested in a local firm through a consortium. While there is no specific timeline, Osaka Gas eventually wants to sell LNG to India, Fujiwara said. Vietnam, which revised its energy policy in April to call for a massive increase in power generation capacity, is another attractive country for opportunities in both natural gas and renewable energy, he said.

Osaka Gas handled roughly 11 million tons of LNG in the year ended this March, and Fujiwara highlighted diversification and long-term contracts as key to managing geopolitical risks. Fuel from North America and Oceania currently make up a large portion of their portfolio, and the company is also eyeing supply from Southeast Asia and the Middle East, he said.

In February, the company signed a 15-year deal with Abu Dhabi National Oil for LNG from the currently under-construction Ruwais Project in the United Arab Emirates.

Russian LNG from the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project is an important source for Japan, Fujiwara explained, adding he was reassured to hear that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told U.S. President Donald Trump of its significance to Japan¡¯s energy security.