New LNG Terminal for Southwest Japan

A consortium of five Japanese companies is to construct a new LNG terminal within Sumitomo Chemical’s plant at Ehime on the island of Shikoku in southwestern Japan, Tokyo Gas said February 6.

It will be led by subsidiary Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions, alongside Shikoku Electric Power, Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Joint Electric Power and Shikoku Gas. Gas will also be supplied to a natural gas-fired thermal power plant that will be also be built by the companies in the nearby city of Niihama. 

The five companies will form a joint venture under the name Niihama LNG in April 2018 and will begin construction of the LNG terminal. 

Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions will own 50.1% of the joint venture, Shikoku Electric Power 30%, Sumitomo Chemical 9.9%, Sumitomo Joint Electric Power 5% and Shikoku Gas 5%. 

In mid-2017 when details of the Niihama LNG project emerged, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that the terminal/power plant would cost around $600mn and is intended to enable the island of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands, to switch from coal-fired to gas-fired generation.