Chinese LNG trading, supply and city-gas company Beijing Gas Blue Sky gives prices and market outlook
Beijing Gas Blue Sky Holdings, a Chinese natural gas provider and operator focusing on the midstream and downstream, has presented an overview of the current LNG market and prices in China and the effects of Russia’s Ukraine invasion and that of the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the Chinese for longer.
Chinese LNG imports rise year-on-year in June though fall short of previous month’s cargo deliveries
Chinese liquefied natural gas imports increased in June by almost 24 percent as energy demand recovered because of lower prices and more regasification capacity coming on line, though LNG deliveries were less than in the previous month.
GTT China deal
April 7 (LNGJ) - French LNG storage technology company GTT and PipeChina Engineering Technology Innovation have signed a cooperation agreement for the evaluation of onshore tanks for more LNG import projects. The deal was signed during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Beijing. The PipeChina Group currently operates seven LNG receiving terminals in China and is constructing three more import facilities.
“Following the successful deliveries of onshore tanks for the Huagang Gas peak-shaving project in Hejian as well as Phase I of the Beijing Gas Tianjin Nangang project, we are confident that our collaboration with PipeChina Innovation will enable us to continue providing our solutions to support PipeChina’s upcoming terminal projects,” said Adnan Ezzarhouni, General Manager of GTT China.
Chinese LNG imports drop in March as deliveries hit two-year low and are less than Japan’s shipments
Chinese LNG imports dropped by almost 18 percent in March to their lowest level in two years as Covid-19 shutdowns in cities such as Shanghai curbed economic and industrial activity as well as fuel demand and led to Japan overtaking China as the largest North Asian importer last month.
Beijing Gas Group and China Gas sign strategic agreement to stabilise LNG flows towards North China
China Gas Holdings, one of the leading non-state controlled companies in the Chinese city-gas and LNG sectors and state-backed Beijing Gas Group, have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to stabilise LNG flows to North China.
China makes progress with second LNG terminal with mega-storage and sited at Yancheng-Binhai Port
The leading Chinese LNG importer, China National Offshore Oil Corp., has expanded the planned storage capacity from six tanks to 10 tanks for the Yancheng-Binhai Port import terminal now under construction in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
CNOOC said that the cost of the first six tanks would be around 6.1 billion yuan ($953 million) and the Binhai venture would have two gas-fired power plants adjacent.
Phase one will have an annual receiving capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum and will be completed by 2022, including the first four 220,000 cubic metres full containment LNG tanks.
The Binhai facility includes one jetty to accommodate the largest carriers such as the Qatari Q-Max vessels at 266,000 cubic metres capacity.
Four more 220,000 cubic metres LNG tanks will then be built followed by the final two. The Binhai terminal will transfer natural gas to Jiangsu to increase gas availability for refining, industry and gas-fired power.
The full project is scheduled to come on line by the end of 2023 with the 10 tanks operating, including six ultra-large tanks, each with a total volume of 270,000 cubic metres.
“The Binhai LNG terminal in Jiangsu will have an annual LNG regasification capacity of 6 million tonnes a year, though will also have the largest LNG storage base in China with the 10 tanks,” explained Beijing-based CNOOC.
“The terminal’s construction will play a key role in the country’s natural gas supply, storage and gas marketing system,” stated CNOOC.
The company added that the Binhai LNG terminal project would also be an important asset in the industrial upgrade of the Yangtze River Economic Zone.
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.
CNOOC also reportedly purchased almost a dozen additional LNG cargoes for delivery between July 2021 and March 2022 as demand in southern China is expected to remain strong as well as in the north and eastern industrial belt.
A second large LNG import terminal with mega-storage is also under development, the Tianjin Port Nangang project in northeast China.
First of all two tanks are being built followed by the second and third phases which will include building six additional storage tanks, each of 220,000 cubic metres capacity.
Gaztransport and Technigaz, the French technology and engineering company for LNG storage, has designing the tanks for the expanding Chinese import network and its accompanying system of gas-fired power plants and gas grid transmission lines.
The Tianjin Nangang terminal is being developed by the Beijing Gas Group and will be the third serving the northeast Chinese port supplying the gas needs of Beijing.
The existing facilities currently include the Tianjin North onshore terminal operated by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) and a separate floating terminal provided at peak times by Höegh LNG Holdings in the form of a floating storage and regasification unit on long-term charter to CNOOC.
