China National Offshore Oil Corp. said it completed the concrete castings for the foundations of six of the world's largest LNG storage tanks being constructed for the Yancheng-Binhai Port terminal in China's eastern Jiangsu Province.
CNOOC said the six storage tanks, each with 270,000 cubic metres capacity, have been designed and developed in China.
Upon completion, each of six new storage tank will be 60 metres high and with each having a diameter of 100.6 metres and with a total casting volume of 70,860 cubic metres.
The Yancheng-Binhai terminal first phase involves the construction of 10 large-scale LNG storage tanks, including four already built and which are smaller with 220,000 cubic metres capacity.
Ren Jianxun, deputy manager of the project, was cited by CNOOC as saying that low winter temperatures presented a problem in trying to avoid cracks in the massive volumes of concrete being used.
“We decided to adjust the concrete pouring area to be symmetrical scattered by 45 degrees, thus reducing the length of construction joints, effectively preventing cracks and improving construction quality,” explained Ren.
CNOOC said that the cost of the six largest tanks was around 6 billion yuan ($950 million) and the Binhai venture would have two gas-fired power plants adjacent.
The first phase is scheduled to come on line by the end of 2023 with the 10 tanks operating.
Jiangsu's Yancheng-Binhai terminal will have an annual LNG regasification capacity of an initial 6 million tonnes per annum, though will also have the largest LNG storage base in China with the 10 tanks.
Further expansion
CNOOC has described the Binhai project as an important asset in the industrial upgrade of the Yangtze River Economic Zone.
For the next stage of the project, CNOOC said it would likely add a further 10 storage tanks, each of 270,000 cubic metres of capacity, to give an open-ended capability.
CNOOC has the largest regasification capacity of the Chinese majors with a presence in eight of the existing 22 import terminals, even after state-backed PipeChina bought and opened up several CNOOC-owned terminals to third-party access.
A second large LNG import terminal with mega-storage, the Tianjin Port Nangang project in northeast China, is also under development.
