Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX) has decided to start a Front-End Engineering Design study, and begin discussions with related government agencies to construct an LNG receiving terminal in Shinchi Town, Fukushima Prefecture (Soma Port) along with a connecting pipeline. The vaporized LNG gas received at the terminal is to be carried to the company’s Niigata-Sendai Pipeline, through the connecting pipeline to be connected at Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture. The planned capacity and costs of the project was not disclosed. The terminal could be operational as early as 2018.
This LNG import project will contribute to cover a soaring demand for gas in the Tohoku region (Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures); JAPEX highlights the "heightened awareness of the environment and energy conservation" to justify the choice of gas. Since the nuclear accident of March 2011, most nuclear power reactors' operations have remained suspended, aggravating the country's dependency to fossil fuels.