Tellurian Inc. Chairman and liquefied natural gas (LNG) pioneer Charif Souki told a Japanese audience Tuesday that he would sell them LNG at a fixed $8/MMBtu beginning in 2023, according to press reports.

According to slides from his presentation at Gastech in Tokyo, he also declared $3/MMBtu to be the new benchmark price for natural gas and said Russia and the United States are the only countries that can meet that price long term. Gas from Western Canada, Australia and other parts of the world is out of the money, he said.

Reuters reported from the conference that Souki’s $8/MMBtu offer of LNG for Japan would be from 2023 and under five-year contracts for an initial 7 million tonnes/year of LNG from the planned Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana, Tellurian’s first.

Souki was a cofounder of pioneering Lower 48 LNG exporter Cheniere Energy. After being ousted from the company, he and BG Group alumnus Martin Houston launched Tellurian.

At the Gastech conference Reuters reported that some Japanese LNG buyers in attendance expressed skepticism about Souki’s $8/MMBtu in 2023 offer, noting that fixed prices can be risky. It might sound cheap today, but a lot can happen between now and then was the opinion of some.

Earlier this year in Houston, Souki outlined his vision for the global LNG industry. His thoughts were repeated in his slides for the Gastech conference.