Soma Port LNG Terminal

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Soma Port LNG Terminal is a mothballed LNG import terminal in Shinchi Town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The facility was closed following an earthquake in March 2022.

Location

Soma Port LNG Terminal is located in Shinchi Town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

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Project Details

• Owner: Japex
• Location: Shinchi Town, Fukushima , Tohoku, Japan
• Coordinates: 37.8501123, 140.9496459 (exact)
• Capacity: 1.5 mtpa
• Status: Mothballed
• Type: Import
• Start Year: 2018

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

Soma Port LNG Terminal is an LNG import terminal under construction in Shinchi Town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX) completed the facility's engineering design study and demand survey and made its final investment decision to build the LNG terminal and connecting pipeline in November 2013. JAPEX began construction on the facility in November 2014 and is planning for a commercial operation date in March 2018. The total project cost is estimated at approximately US$480 million (JPY$60 billion).

The Soma LNG terminal will include a storage tank with a 230,000 kiloliter (kL) capacity, LNG vaporization equipment, tank truck loading facilities, and two berths. A 40-kilometer long, 20-inch diameter pipeline currently under construction will transport vaporized natural gas from the terminal to the JAPEX Niigata-Sendai Gas Pipeline.

In August 2020, JAPEX announced completion of construction of the second phase of the Soma LNG terminal, which included a second 230,000 m³ storage tank. In parallel, No. 2 Unit of the Fukushima Natural Gas Power plant which provides power to Soma Port in Shinchi Town commenced commercial operations.

The terminal began commercial operations in March 2018.

In March 2022, JAPEX suspended operations at the facility following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake offshore Fukushima. The facility was reportedly damaged and JAPEX gave no timeline for when operations would restart.