Sojitz Buys Spanish LNG Terminal
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Monday, October 30, 2017
Japan's Sojitz Corporation has acquired full ownership of First State Regasificadora (FSR), subsequently changing the company’s name to Sojitz Regasificadora (SR).
SR owns a 15% stake in Regasificadora del Noroeste (Reganosa), whose assets include the LNG terminal located in Mugardos, located in the northwest of Spain. This makes Sojitz Corporation (Sojitz) the first Japanese trading company to enter into the LNG terminal business in Europe.
Reganosa commenced operations at the Mugardos LNG Terminal in 2007. LNG delivered to the Mugardos LNG Terminal is not only supplied to the domestic market in Spain, but also reloaded and delivered to Asia as well as other parts of the world. Reganosa also has plans to use the terminal as an LNG bunkering station for ships using LNG as marine fuel.
Sojitz has been involved in the LNG business since the 1970s, having gained a wealth of knowledge and experience through LNG liquefaction & marketing activities, LNG trading and LNG import activities into Japan, wich notable investments in Indonesia and Qatar.
Sojitz will contribute its LNG expertise and other businesses experience gained through a wide range of general trading operations, to support the further development of the Mugardos LNG Terminal.
Sojitz will continue to develop its global LNG business with a focus on LNG receiving and liquefaction terminals, and will look at expanding its LNG receiving terminal business into ASEAN and other countries in South Asia, and to also develop its LNG liquefaction business to help create a stable energy supply for Japan, the world’s largest importer of LNG.