Naoetsu LNG Receiving Terminal

Inpex Corporation developed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in the city of Joetsu in Nigata Prefecture, Japan. Located near the port of Naoetsu, the new terminal has a processing capacity of 240t/h of LNG. It helps meet the increasing demands for LNG in Japan.

The new terminal covers an area of 25ha. Inpex established a construction division to build the facility and invested $860m in the project, including construction and land acquisition costs. The terminal began commercial operations in December 2013.

Development of the Naoetsu LNG receiving terminal

Inpex supplies natural gas to Tokyo and eight prefectures through a 1,400km pipeline network. Natural gas is supplied mainly to gas enterprises, as well as commercial and industrial customers in the region.

Natural gas is mainly sourced from the Minami-Nagaoka field and other gas fields located in Japan. In 2011, Inpex’s natural gas sales amounted to 1.7 billion m³.

In the future, demand for natural gas is expected to increase steadily due to a rise in other fuel prices. In addition, environmental awareness is also fuelling demand, as the gas is a clean burning fuel.

The Naoetsu LNG terminal is part of Inpex’s long-term plans to secure natural gas supply to the region and strengthen its supply chain. Inpex has already secured natural gas from the Shizuoka Gas Company, which has been flowing through its network since January 2010.

Inpex is also planning to import LNG from its overseas operations such as the Ichthys project in Australia and Abadi project in Indonesia. The new terminal enables the company to establish a connection between its gas supply network and overseas assets.
Plans for the terminal were announced in August 2007 and the final investment decision was taken in August 2008.

Construction and infrastructure of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal

Ground breaking for the new LNG terminal took place in July 2009. The facility includes one berth, a landing bridge, two LNG storage tanks A and B, four LPG storage tanks, a vaporiser, calorific value adjustment units and a boil off gas compressor. It also includes administrative offices, utilities and connecting pipelines.

The storage tanks have a capacity of 180,000kl each and feature dome-shaped roofs. Space for the addition of a third storage tank is also available at the facility.

As of September 2011, construction of the storage tanks was 70% complete, construction of the plant was 30% complete, and the landing bridge was 25% complete. The connecting pipelines at the facility were 20% complete.

LNG carriers berth at the terminal to deliver LNG. An unloading arm moves the LNG into the storage tanks, where is it then pumped into the vaporiser. Boil off gases from vaporisation are sent to the compressor. Natural gas from the compressor and the vaporiser is then passed through the calorific adjustment units and fed into Inpex’s pipeline network.

New proposals made by the Inpex Corporation

In May 2011, Inpex announced the construction of a new 103km natural gas pipeline called the Toyama line. The natural gas pipeline was constructed by June this year. The new pipeline transports the LNG imported by the Naoetsu terminal and supplies it to its customers.

Contractors involved in the Naoetsu terminal in Joetsu

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the terminal was awarded to Chiyoda Corporation.

Chiyoda has been involved since the preliminary stages of the project in April 2007. It provided conceptual plans and engineering designs for the project before being awarded the EPC contract.

Construction of the storage tanks was carried out by a joint venture of Toyo Kanetsu and Shimizu Corporation. Toyo Kanetsu was responsible for the mechanical works, while Shimizu Corporation undertook the civil works.

Tao Corporation was responsible for the construction of the berth. Strainstall Marine supplied 48 load measuring pins, which are used as part of a system to measure loads in the mooring lines of LNG vessels berthing at the terminal.