China’s state-controlled energy giant Sinopec said its Qingdao LNG import terminal in Shandong province has received the first shipment from Qatar.
According to a statement by Sinopec, the Qingdao LNG terminal received the cargo from Qatar on April 3.
The 2009-built, Q-Flex LNG carrier Al Sadd, owned by Nakilat and chartered by Qatargas, delivered the shipment from the giant Ras Laffan complex in Qatar to the facility.
Sinopec said the vessel brought a total of 205,000 cubic meters of Qatari LNG.
Earlier this year, Sinopec’s Tianjin LNG terminal received the first shipment from Qatar as part of Sinopec’s long-term deal with QatarEnergy.
Sinopec and QatarEnergy, previously known as Qatar Petroleum, signed the 10-year LNG supply deal in March last year.
As per the Qingdao facility, Sinopec completed the terminal’s second expansion phase in August last year. The firm added two new 160,000-cbm LNG storage tanks, boosting the terminal’s yearly handling capacity to 7 mtpa.
The state-owned firm is also working on the third expansion phase of the terminal 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.