The LNG carrier Yari LNG was en route to Sinopec’s new Wenzhou terminal with an expected arrival by 3 July, our shipping data indicated at the time of writing. The 3mtpa terminal will bolster Zhejiang Province’s LNG import capacity and help facilitate a steep increase in urban gas utilisation envisioned by the Province’s 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas, according to the Chongqing Petroleum and Gas Exchange.
Sinopec’s Wenzhou LNG terminal is due to receive its commissioning cargo aboard the Bontang LNG-sailed Yari LNG, our LNG Market Tracker indicated at the time of writing.
The 0.06mmt cargo was due to arrive at Wenzhou LNG on 3 July, according to AIS data.
Under construction since 2018
The 3mpta project on Xiaomen Island west of the city of Wenzhou comprises an LNG jetty and four storage tanks with 200,000m3 capacity each.
The new terminal had been under construction since 2018.
Eight gas sources strategy
By the end of 2022, Zhejiang Province had formed a future gas development strategy comprising "eight gas sources, networking, and county-to-county connections".
The province’s gas supply is facilitated by the West Line 1 & 2, the Sichuan-East Gas Transmission Network, Chunxiao Gas, Lishui Gas, Zhejiang LNG, ENN Zhoushan LNG and the Xinjiang coal-to-gas plant.
Necessary expansion
Zhejiang Province imported 6.97 million tonnes of LNG last year, according to our data, down 2.07mmt (-23pct) from 2021.
Zhejiang and Zhoushan LNG have previously been operating at above or close to nameplate capacities.
Five-Year Plan
According to the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas in Zhejiang Province, the proportion of natural gas consumption as primary energy in Zhejiang Province will increase to roughly 13pct in 2025. This includes an increase in the urban use of natural gas to 60pct of energy consumption.
The scale of the natural gas pipeline network in the Province has reached 4,500 kilometres and facilitates a "county-to-county” connectivity, according to the Chongqing Petroleum and Gas Exchange (CPGE).
Seven LNG import nodes by 2025
The provincial government is planning to have seven LNG import nodes by 2025 – including Wenzhou LNG, Zhejiang LNG, Zhoushan LNG and the small-scale Zhejiang Hangjiaxin LNG project.
Technically, Toumen Island off Shanghai, which hosts the Yangcheng terminal, also forms part of Zhejiang province but the terminal is supplying the metropolis.
Three more LNG projects are currently at various development stages in Zhejiang, according to CPGE.
