JAPEX to build LNG terminal in Fukushima

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. said it will build a new storage terminal for liquefied natural gas at Soma Port in Fukushima Prefecture, which was severely damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

“We want to help areas affected by the disaster to create employment and secure a stable supply of energy,” Shoichi Ishii, JAPEX senior managing director, said at a news conference on Nov. 27.

The oil developer said it plans to import shale gas from North America, and that new facilities will be used mainly to store the imported gas and supply it to a wide range of areas via pipelines.

JAPEX said starting in 2018, it will import 1.2 million tons of LNG made from shale gas produced in Canada each year. The construction of the new LNG terminal in Shinchi, scheduled for completion in 2017, will start in 2014.

JAPEX said it will also construct a 40-kilometer-long pipeline linking the new storage facilities with Natori, Miyagi Prefecture.

A pipeline already exists that connects an LNG station in Niigata Prefecture, located on the Sea of Japan side, and Miyagi Prefecture. The company will join the new pipeline with the existing one, JAPEX officials said.

Because Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures are on the Pacific side of the Japanese archipelago, the planned pipeline will allow JAPEX to ensure a stable supply of LNG, even in the event a disaster, typically an earthquake, hits one side of Japan’s mainland.

Construction costs for the new storage facilities and pipeline are estimated at 60 billion yen ($587 million).

With the goal of selling electricity to struggling Tokyo Electric Power Co., JAPEX is also considering building an LNG-fired power plant near the planned storage facilities, according to the officials.

Because JAPEX does not have experience operating a thermal plant, it intends to work with other companies to run the new powerhouse.