LNG

The area around Tianjin in northeast China currently has floating and onshore import terminals and is already the nation’s leading LNG importer, but an expansion of the onshore terminal and the construction of a new facility, the largest in China, will turn the Port into the main China LNG Hub and the biggest in Asia.

According to Customs data, Tianjin accounting for nearly 20 percent of all Chinese LNG imports during the first four months of 2020.

From January to April, LNG imports through the Tianjin port increased 25.6 percent year-on-year to total 3.92 million tonnes.

The LNG imported through the port mainly came from Australia, Russia and Asian nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Tianjin North onshore terminal is operated by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., also known as Sinopec.

Sinopec, which plans to more than double its LNG receiving capacities to 41 million tonnes by 2025, currently operates three import terminals.

It is also a partner of US major ConocoPhillips in the Australia-Pacific LNG production plant in Queensland with a contract for more than 7 million tonnes per annum of supplies.

The Chinese company operates three terminal in China at Qingdao in Shandong province, the Tianjin North terminal and the Beihai facility in the Guangxi autonomous region bordering Vietnam.

There has also been a Tianjin floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) deployed since 2013 by China National Offshore Oil Corp., the nation's largest LNG importer.

The role during the past couple of winter seasons has been carried out by the “Höegh Esperanza”.

Sinopec’s plans include expanding the Tianjin terminal, which guarantees supplies to Beijing during winter, to have a capacity to handle 12 MTPA of imports.

Another import project is being developed at Tianjin by Beijing Gas Group and is known as the Nangang project.

It is currently scheduled to come on line in 2022 with 10 tanks and up to 2 million tonnes of storage.

Beijing Gas has obtained the government's approval to construct the terminal with huge storage tank capacity in the Nangang district of Tianjin City, giving the port area three separate facilities and eventually up to 25 MTPA of capacity, making it the biggest single LNG import centre in Asia.

Nangang will have an initial 5 MTPA of capacity and will then be gradually expanded.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, backed by the Chinese government, said in December 2019 it was investing $500 million in the new Beijing Gas LNG project.

With a population of around 113 million, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is one of the most important economic engines within China and has increasing natural gas demand.

Beijing Gas is mainly engaged in city-gas distribution and supplies more than 10 billion cubic metres per annum to the Chinese capital and surrounding areas.

Its new Tianjin terminal will also have a jetty to receive the largest carriers of 260,000 cubic metres capacity.

There will additionally be a pipeline of 230 kilometres to send regasified LNG supplies from the coast to gas storage facilities near Beijing. 

July 31 (LNGJ) - The 75,000 cubic metres capacity Med-class carrier “Berge Arzew” will unload a shipment on August 2 at the Turkish import facilities at Aliaga from the Skikda plant in Algeria operated by Sonatrach, according to shipping data. The 170,050 cubic metres capacity “Hoegh Giant” will unload a cargo on August 4 at the Portuguese Sines terminal from the US Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana operated by Cheniere Energy.

   The 180,000 cubic metres capacity “SK Audace” will unload a shipment on August 4 at the Manzanillo terminal on the Pacific Coast of Mexico from the US Sabine Pass plant. The 217,000 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex vessel carrier “Al Kharsaah” will deliver a cargo on August 5 to the Mina Al Ahmadi terminal in Kuwait from Ras Laffan in Qatar. The 170,050 cubic metres capacity carrier “Hoegh Gallant” will unload a shipment on August 6 at the Indian Dahej terminal re-exported from the Montoir-de-Bretagne facility on the West Coast of France.

   The 174,100 cubic metres capacity carrier “Cesi Behai” will deliver a cargo on August 9 to the port of Tianjin, east of Beijing, for Sinopec from the Australia-Pacific plant in Queensland. The 210,100 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex vessel “Fraiha” will unload a Qatargas cargo on August 13 at the Shanwei terminal in the southern Guangdong province of China. The 172,000 cubic metres capacity “Vladimir Vize” will deliver a cargo on August 15 to the Chinese import facilities at Tianjin from the Yamal plant in Arctic Russia, operated by Novatek. The 173,400 cubic metres capacity carrier “Ribera Del Duero Knutsen” will deliver a shipment on August 16 to Chile’s Mejillones terminal from the US plant at Sabine Pass. The 148,300 cubic metres capacity “LNG Imo” will deliver a cargo on August 20 to the Port Qasim facilities in Pakistan from the Bonny Island plant in Nigeria.

Jan 30 (LNGJ) - The 147,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Min Rong” will deliver a cargo on January 31 to the Chinese Fujian terminal from the Tangguh export plant in Indonesia, operated by BP of the UK, according to shipping data. The 174,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Gaslog Houston” will unload a shipment on February 2 at the Tangshan terminal in northeast China from the Gorgon plant on Barrow Island in Western Australia. The 172,000 cubic metres capacity “Kumul” will deliver a cargo on February 3 to the Chinese Qingdao terminal in eastern Shandong province from the plant in Papua New Guinea.

   The 174,100 cubic metres capacity vessel “Cesi Behai” is scheduled to deliver a cargo on Feb 6 to the Chinese Tianjin terminal for Sinopec from the Australia Pacific plant in Queensland. The 155,000 cubic metres capacity “Gaslog Savannnah” is delivering on February 8 to the Qingdao terminal, operated by Sinopec, from the Australia-Pacific plant in Queensland. The 210,185 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex vessel “Al Bahaiya” will unload a cargo on February 10 at the port of Tianjin from Qatargas at Ras Laffan.

   In other Asian deliveries, the 155,000 cubic metres capacity “LNG Venus” will deliver a cargo on February 7 to Singapore from Gladstone LNG in Queensland. The 216,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Al Thumama” will unload a cargo on February 5 at the Map Ta Phut terminal in Thailand from the Qatargas plant at Ras Laffan.

Hoegh LNG Holdings, the Norwegian fleet operator, said its floating storage and regasification unit, the 170,000 cubic metres capacity “Hoegh Esperanza” had arrived at Tianjin port in northeast China and has started commissioning for FSRU import operations to serve the capital Beijing.

May 22 (LNGJ) - The 145,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Arkat” is unloading a cargo on May 22 at the Taiwanese terminal at Yung-An from the Brunei export plant, according to shipping data. The 160,500 cubic metres capacity vessel “Sonangol Benguela” will deliver a shipment on June 9 to the Indian Dahej terminal, operated by Petronet LNG, from Angola LNG. The 161,880 cubic metres capacity vessel “BW Pavilion Leeara” is scheduled to unload a shipment on June 1 at the Bahia Blanca terminal in Argentina from the US Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana owned by Cheniere Energy. The 174,100 cubic metres capacity carrier “Cesi Gladstone” will deliver a shipment on June 1 to the Chinese Tianjin terminal, located east of Beijing and owned by Sinopec, from the Australia Pacific LNG plant in Queensland. The 141,000 Cubic metres capacity carrier “LNG Cross River” will unload a cargo on June 17 at the Montoir-de-Bretagne terminal on the French Atlantic Coast from the Nigerian export plant on Bonny Island.