Mitsubishi officials get Cook Inlet tour

Senior officials of Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals, a major Japanese energy and chemicals company, were in Alaska in mid-August to look at investment prospects. Resource Energy Alaska, a small Japanese company working on a Cook Inlet liquefied natural gas project, played host.

The group was headed by Kazuo Sakai, the company’s chairman, and included Masashi Fujii, executive officer, Shinichi Mitsuda, executive general manager, and Tatsuro Mochinaga, manager.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals has an affiliation with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. but it a separate company. Years ago the company was involved with Unocal Corp. in development of the large ammonia and urea fertilizer plant at Nikiski now owned by Agrium Corp., so it has Alaska experience, said Mary Ann Pease, REI’s general manager and vice president.

The company is also one of several Japanese energy and utility companies working with REI on its Alaska project, Pease said.

Agrium’s plant, which is now closed, was on the tour for the visiting group, Pease she said. Agrium is working on plans to reopen the facility.

The tour included flights over Cook Inlet producing facilities and aerial views of other Nikiski industrial plants including ConocoPhillips’ natural gas liquefaction plant and the Tesoro Corp. refinery, and a site visit at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s Port MacKenzie, where REI has an option on a 133-acre land parcel adjacent to the port for a medium-sized LNG plant.

“This trip was ground work to give MGC’s top executives an overview of opportunities in Alaska, not only with REI’s project but other potential including upstream investments,” Pease said.

“The company is looking to Alaska for strategic opportunities and the trip was to establish a sense of trust that Alaska is still business-friendly,” for Japan, she said.

Alaska’s decades-long trading relationships with Japan, including in LNG, is a good foundation to build on, Pease said.

- TIM BRADNER