TAIPEI (Reuters – Taiwan was not approached by the United States regarding the possibility of diverting supplies of Liquefied Natural Gas to Europe (OTC:). (LNG) in case of a Ukraine-related disruption. The economy ministry stated Monday.

USA, world’s largest producer of crude oil, asked Qatari and other energy majors to assess whether Europe could be supplied if Russia cuts supplies due to tensions in Ukraine.

According to Japanese sources, the United States also asked Japan if it could send LNG to Europe in an event of such a disruption. Japan said that it was looking into how this could be done.

When asked if Taiwan was another Asian customer of LNG, the ministry replied that it hadn’t received the necessary information.

The statement added: “Our country’s imports of natural gas come from various sources. (It) continues to adjust the procurement strategy to diversify import risks.”

According to the ministry, Taiwan obtains LNG from more then 10 countries such as Australia and Qatar, Indonesia, Qatar, and Russia. This is done through long- and short-term agreements as well as the spot market, when necessary.

“The island continues to have stable, diverse and reliable natural gas sources.”

Taiwan wants to increase its LNG generation, as it moves away from nuclear and coal-powered plants. It is currently building a huge new LNG terminal on the coast of Taiwan.

CPC Corp, a state-owned refiner signed last July a 15 year LNG supply agreement (with Qatar Petroleum)

CPC announced that starting this year, it will buy 1.25million tonnes of LNG each from Qatar for domestic use.

In 1997, Taiwan started importing LNG from Qatar.