China’s state-controlled energy giant Sinopec said it has completed the second expansion phase at its Qingdao LNG import terminal in Shandong province.
As part of the expansion, Sinopec said it has built two new 160,000-cbm LNG storage tanks, boosting the terminal’s yearly handling capacity to 7 million tonnes, or equivalent to 9.6 billion cubic meters a year.
The terminal previously had a capacity of 6 million tonnes of LNG per year.
Sinopec said on Tuesday the expansion would significantly boost the peak shaving capacity of natural gas storage and lay a solid foundation for ensuring the stable supply of natural gas in North China this winter and next spring.
The energy giant is also working on the third expansion phase which it aims to complete in 2023, according to the statement.
This phase would increase the plant’s capacity to 14 million tonnes per year, making it the largest in China, Sinopec said.
Sinopec added the LNG terminal had received more than 31.1 million tonnes of LNG since its first cargo in 2014.
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.