China’s state-controlled energy giant Sinopec said it has won approval to build the Longkou LNG import terminal in Shandong province.
The country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently granted the approval for the construction of the terminal, according to a statement by Sinopec.
Located in the Longkou port area, the first phase of the LNG facility would have a capacity of 6 mtpa.
This includes building a jetty capable of receiving the world’s largest LNG carriers of 266,000 cbm but also four storage tanks each with a capacity of 220,000 cbm, Sinopec said.
Also, the terminal would have a truck loading capacity of 1 mtpa, the firm said.
Sinopec did not provide any additional information on the LNG terminal which would be the company’s third such facility in China. The firm already operates the Qingdao and Tianjin LNG terminals.
It has recently completed the second expansion phase at its Qingdao LNG import terminal in Shandong province.
Sinopec built two new 160,000-cbm LNG storage tanks, boosting the terminal’s yearly handling capacity to 7 mtpa.
The energy giant is also working on the third expansion phase which it aims to complete in 2023.
This phase would increase the plant’s capacity to 14 mtpa, making it the largest in China, Sinopec previously said.
Chinese LNG imports have been steadily increasing in 2021 on strong demand from the power generation and industrial sectors. The country should overtake Japan as the world’s top LNG importer this year.
During the January-August period, China imported 51.81 million tonnes of LNG. This is about 0.47 million tonnes more LNG than Japan imported in the same period this year.
