Mitsui & Co., Ltd. through Mitsui USA's wholly-owned subsidiary Intercontinental Terminals Company LLC (ITC) of the US, has reached a decision to build a new bulk liquid terminal on the Houston Ship Channel in Pasadena, Texas. This project - a total investment approximately US$ 150 million (approx. JPY 14 billion) - is aimed for the construction of new tank units involving harbor and shipping facilities so that ITC can better respond to surging demand for such facilities from the US petrochemical industry amid the nation's prevailing shale gas and oil revolution.

ITC already owns and operates a 265 acre terminal facility in Deer Park, on the Houston Ship Channel, with which ITC has remained committed to serving chemical companies for over 40 years, offering safe and efficient shipment and storage of petroleum and petrochemical products. As a prime location for the petrochemical and petroleum industries, the Houston area has enjoyed solid growth in recent years and ITC achieved sales of approximately US$ 115 million (approx. JPY 11 billion) over fiscal year 2012.

ITC's Pasadena site makes an ideal logistics hub due to its location along the Houston Ship Channel, an entryway to the Gulf of Mexico, and also given its convenient access to major chemical manufacturers and other entities adjacent to the site. The company acquired the Pasadena land to ensure ITC strategic growth opportunities going forward, particularly in light of limited prospects for green field expansion along the Houston Ship Channel. ITC intends to bring the newly-built tank terminal facility into operation sometime during the second quarter of 2015.

The Houston area now hosts the highest concentration of petroleum and petrochemical companies in the US and is expected to see even further development amid the nation's prevailing shale gas and oil revolution. The Pasadena site acquired by ITC has ample room for further expansion, and accordingly management intends to look into scalabilities for further development of facilities to meet emerging needs amid increasing demand in the Houston area.

Mitsui regards tank terminal ventures as a core component of its business portfolio, given that such facilities constitute a key element of the increasingly global development of the chemical industry. Moreover, they intend to persist over the long-haul in this realm by providing safe and efficient logistical solutions to their customers who are pursuing business opportunities in the Houston area. Also, envisaging prospects emerging from the shale gas and oil revolution in the US, they intend to improve the quality of our asset portfolio by targeting outstanding business opportunities in the petroleum and petrochemical industry.