Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX) has started construction of an LNG terminal at Soma Port in Shinchi Town, Japan, following a ground-breaking ceremony in mid-November.
Located in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture, JAPEX is also preparing to construct a connecting pipeline to carry vaporised LNG gas from the 20-hectare terminal to its main trunk pipeline.
JAPEX is supplying natural gas produced domestically in Niigata, Yamagata and Akita prefectures, as well as vaporised LNG gas received from overseas.
The company has acquired interests in Canadian gas development projects, including the Canada Pacific NorthWest LNG Project, in which natural gas is transported to the Port of Prince Rupert on the western coast of Canada via pipeline and liquefied and exported as LNG.
The US$500 million Soma Port facility will consist of one aboveground LNG tank, a receiving berth for large ocean-going LNG tankers, a domestic LNG vessel berth, and facilities such as LNG vaporisers and truck loading facilities.
