“The construction of Hibiki Gas Center of Saibugas in Hibikinada Ward, Kita Kyushu is progressing smoothly. Scheduled to go into operation in November of 2014, it will be capable of handling large LNG tankers. When completed, the amount of LNG handled will expand to 1 million tons, an increase of 30% over the current amount. In view of this, the company plans to expand its liquid gas business beyond the area of its piping network.

Currently Saibugas operates 2 centers handling import and sales of LNG, one in Fukuoka and the other in Nagasaki. However with a recent and continued rise in the demand of city gas in sight, the company looked into the possibility of constructing a new large LNG center, and in February of 2010 announced that it had decided upon Hibikinada Ward in Kitakyushu as the location.

The key point here is that the 2 centers now in operation can only handle the docking of small tankers but in contrast to this large tankers will be able to dock at the new center. Large tankers refer to those which are around 10 times larger than small tankers and which can carry 80,000 tons of LNG at a time. One of the important reasons for using large tankers is that they greatly reduce transport costs, and this leads to expansion in the freedom of where to procure the gas. The company plans to consolidate its production capability of its Fukuoka setup as this is the largest area of demand.

Right now Saibugas is in the process of expanding its sales of liquid LNG by using satellite bases. In the form of wholesale gas, the company is supplying about 30,000 tons a year by truck to a total of 14 firms, breaking down into 4 city gas customers at 5 locations, and 10 customers using the gas for industrial purposes (status as of March, 2012). Saibugas positions the sales of LNG to regions where city gas piping does not reach as a business with a very high growth potential. With the growth of the Hibiki LNG gas center, the company plans to head very vigorously toward expansion of this business.”