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Two weeks after their project looked dead in the water, investors behind the Jordan Cove Energy Project announced they’d found an Asian buyer and planned to appeal an unfavorable regulatory ruling.

The announcement by Veresen Inc. of a deal with a consortium of Japanese investors came 11 days after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied applications to build and operate a massive liquefied natural gas export terminal and pipeline project that would have affected more than 600 Oregon private property owners and radically altered the tiny coastal town of Coos Bay.

FERC regulators reasoned that Calgary-based Veresen and its partner, Williams Companies, hadn’t shown that the project’s public benefits would outweigh the . The project would have enabled transfer of liquefied natural gas from North America to Asia, but the global market for fossil fuels is much different today than when the project was first proposed more than a decade ago.

Veresen’s deal with JERA, a joint venture of Japanese utilities, would cover about a quarter of the terminal’s capacity of natural gas, which is expected to be about 1 billion cubic feet per day, according to a Veresen press release.

鈥淲e are pleased to have JERA as our first customer and look forward to deepening our relationship with them as we continue to progress Jordan Cove LNG,鈥� the statement reads.

Opponents praised FERC’s denial of the project; however, project supporters like trade unions and Associated General Contractors’ Oregon-Columbia chapter have insisted that the team keep fighting. Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline is still promoting informational workshops to discuss with citizens how it acquires land rights.

Mike Salsgiver, executive director of AGC‘s Oregon-Columbia chapter, said it will write a letter to FERC supporting an appeal.

鈥淭here’s one customer lined up that we know of, and obviously, if the project’s approved there will be more,鈥� he said.

Supporters argue that the project would be the largest private project ever in Oregon, and a long-overdue boost to economically-depressed Southern Oregon. Hundreds of union workers have crowded into public hearings to express their support.

鈥淚t would be absolutely marvelous news for the southwest coast,鈥� Salsgiver said.

The $7.6 billion project would involve three major aspects 鈥� a terminal, including an access channel from the existing Coos Bay navigation channel and a marine slip with berths capable of accommodating a large LNG vessel; a 420-megawatt power plant; and a 232-mile pipeline from Coos Bay to Malin.