The Middle East conflict has significantly tightened supplies on the spot liquefied natural gas market and the upward pressure on prices could persist if the war drags on, an executive at Tokyo Gas has said, Reuters reports.

“We will seek to optimise supply and demand through our global LNG trading capabilities,” Go Soga, an executive officer for Tokyo Gas, told reporters.

Tokyo Gas is Japan’s biggest city gas provider and one of the country’s biggest buyers of LNG. It operates an LNG trading company in Singapore in coordination with offices in London and Tokyo.