# Higashi Niigata LNG Terminal
The Higashi Niigata LNG Terminal is an LNG import terminal at the Niigata Base of Nihonkai LNG Co., Ltd. (日本海エル・エヌ・ジー株式会社) in Minato 1-chome, Seiro town, Kitakanbara district, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, serving the adjacent Higashi Niigata Thermal Power Station of Tohoku Electric Power and regional gas users.[1](https://www.bunka.go.jp/kindai/kenzoubutsu/research_doboku/denryoku/hatudensho/p004/index.html) • [2](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/169.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Minato 1-chome, Seiro town, Kitakanbara district, Niigata Prefecture, on the East Port (Higashi-Ko) of Niigata Port[1](https://www.bunka.go.jp/kindai/kenzoubutsu/research_doboku/denryoku/hatudensho/p004/index.html) |
| Operator | Nihonkai LNG Co., Ltd. (NIHONKAI LNG CO., LTD. in English), owned by Tohoku Electric Power, the Development Bank of Japan, Niigata Prefecture and others[3](https://www.nihonkai-lng.co.jp/company/index.html) • [4](https://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/IR/library/pdf/investor/ig15total.pdf) |
| Start-up | 1984[2](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/169.pdf) |
| Storage capacity | 720,000 kl[2](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/169.pdf) |
| Delivery capacity | 40,000 m³ per day (2002 figure)[2](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/169.pdf) |
| Throughput | Rated at 4 million tonnes per year in a 2004 industry survey; listed at 8.9 Mtpa in the Global Energy Monitor tracker[5](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/260.pdf) • [6](https://lngatlas.org/country/jp/) |
| Main customer | Higashi Niigata Thermal Power Station, with LNG-fired combined cycle series of 1,210 MW (series 3) and 1,750 MW (series 4)[1](https://www.bunka.go.jp/kindai/kenzoubutsu/research_doboku/denryoku/hatudensho/p004/index.html) |
## Ownership and purpose
Nihonkai LNG was established in August 1978 to import liquefied natural gas through Niigata. [Tohoku Electric Power](https://www.edgepedia.org/tohoku-electric-power) held only 42.3 percent of the votes, alongside Niigata Prefecture, a development bank, an oil explorer, and a gas utility, so the terminal became shared infrastructure supplying city gas feedstock and industrial cold energy rather than a single company's fuel store.[7](https://the-shashi.com/en/tse/9506/) A Tokyo Gas investor survey likewise lists the owner as Nihonkai LNG (Tohoku Electric Power, Development Bank of Japan, Niigata Prefecture, etc.).[4](https://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/IR/library/pdf/investor/ig15total.pdf)
## Terminal and power station
The terminal began operation in 1984, the same year the first LNG-fired combined cycle series (3-1) of the Higashi Niigata Thermal Power Station entered commercial service; series 3-2 followed in 1985, series 4-1 in 1999, and series 4-2 in 2006.[2](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/169.pdf) • [8](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/1219469_2558.html) The 4-2 series is a multi-shaft combined cycle plant in which two gas turbines burn LNG, two heat recovery boilers raise steam from the exhaust, and one steam turbine generates from that steam.[9](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/whats/news/2006/12/20a1.html) Construction of the generating equipment was by [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries](https://www.edgepedia.org/mitsubishi-heavy-industries) and [Mitsubishi Electric](https://www.edgepedia.org/mitsubishi-electric), among others.[1](https://www.bunka.go.jp/kindai/kenzoubutsu/research_doboku/denryoku/hatudensho/p004/index.html)
The older Minato units at the same station, each 350,000 kW burning heavy oil and LNG, were placed in long-term planned suspension on March 31, 2021, as Tohoku Electric retired lower-efficiency aging plants while developing high-efficiency thermal capacity.[8](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/1219469_2558.html) In October 2020 the output of the 4-1 series was increased from 826,000 kW to 877,900 kW.[10](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/ir/report/integrated_report/pdf/tohoku_report2020en.pdf)
## Fuel supply and port context
The terminal receives LNG cargoes by ship. On February 22, 2011 it received the first cargo for Tohoku Electric from Indonesia's Tangguh LNG project in [West Papua](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-papua-province), about 64,000 tonnes, delivered by the 155,000 m³-class tanker Tangguh Foja.[11](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/pastnews/normal/1182167_1049.html)
The terminal sits within Niigata Port's East Port industrial zone, which opened on November 19, 1969. The port as a whole now receives about 10 million tonnes of LNG per year and is described by the prefecture as the largest energy base on the [Sea of Japan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sea-of-japan) side of the country.[12](https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/niigata_kouwan/1356786303810.html)
## Scale in context
With 720,000 kl of storage, the terminal ranked among Japan's mid-sized LNG receiving facilities in the early 2000s: [Tokyo Gas](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-gas) and Tokyo Electric's Sodegaura terminal held 2,660,000 kl and TEPCO's Futtsu terminal 860,000 kl, while smaller regional terminals such as Chita LNG (640,000 kl) and Kawagoe (480,000 kl) were comparable.[2](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/169.pdf) Its 1984 start-up places it in the second wave of Japanese LNG terminals, after the [Tokyo Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-bay) terminals of the early 1970s and alongside other 1980s entrants such as Higashi Ogishima (1984) and Himeji II (1984).[5](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/260.pdf)
## References
1. [東新潟火力発電所・日本海エル・エヌ・ジー株式会社新潟基地, Agency for Cultural Affairs](https://www.bunka.go.jp/kindai/kenzoubutsu/research_doboku/denryoku/hatudensho/p004/index.html)
2. [IEEJ (December 2002), Delivery and Storage Capacities of the World's Major LNG Receiving Terminals](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/169.pdf)
3. [会社概要, 日本海エル・エヌ・ジー株式会社](https://www.nihonkai-lng.co.jp/company/index.html)
4. [LNG Terminals in Japan, Tokyo Gas investor materials](https://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/IR/library/pdf/investor/ig15total.pdf)
5. [IEEJ (August 2004), LNG terminal data table](https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/data/pdf/260.pdf)
6. [Japan LNG infrastructure — terminals and pipelines, LNG Atlas / Global Energy Monitor](https://lngatlas.org/country/jp/)
7. [Tohoku Electric Power — Company History](https://the-shashi.com/en/tse/9506/)
8. [東新潟火力発電所 港1号機および港2号機の長期計画停止について, Tohoku Electric Power (April 1, 2021)](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/1219469_2558.html)
9. [東新潟火力発電所4-2号系列の概要, Tohoku Electric Power (December 2006)](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/whats/news/2006/12/20a1.html)
10. [Tohoku Electric Power Integrated Report 2020](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/ir/report/integrated_report/pdf/tohoku_report2020en.pdf)
11. [タングーLNGプロジェクトからのLNGの受入れ開始について, Tohoku Electric Power (February 22, 2011)](https://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/pastnews/normal/1182167_1049.html)
12. [新潟港の概要, Niigata Prefecture](https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/niigata_kouwan/1356786303810.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Energy technology › Natural gas › LNG terminals › LNG terminals in Japan*
*Initially written Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license