South Korea’s top steel producer Posco and its unit Posco Energy will build two more LNG tanks at the Gwangyang import terminal as part of a new move revealed on Tuesday.
Posco said in a statement it would invest 750 billion won ($628.9 million) in the expansion project in South Jeolla province to cater to the increasing LNG demand.
A joint venture consisting of Posco and its energy unit signed the investment deal with the local government.
Furthermore, the two new LNG storage tanks would be built on a site near the Gwangyang LNG terminal and would have a capacity of 200,000 kiloliters, Posco said.
Posco expects the new LNG tanks to go into service in the second half of 2025.
Eight LNG tanks
The 3.1 mtpa Gwangyang LNG terminal is Korea’s first private LNG terminal besides the Kogas-owned facilities and it currently has five storage tanks.
The first and the second tanks started operation in 2005 followed by the third in October 2010 and the fourth in May 2013. Also, the latest and the fifth tank started commercial operations in December 2019.
Besides LNG tanks, the terminal also features an LPG tank, a jetty and other regasification and additional facilities.
Independent power producer Posco Energy is already expanding the LNG import terminal at Gwangyang with the addition of a sixth tank.
This tank with a capacity of 200,000 kiloliters should enter operation in 2024.
Following completion of the two new tanks in 2025, the LNG terminal would have eight LNG tanks with a capacity of 1.33 million kiloliters, Posco said.