25 September 2013, News Wires – China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) expects to add five liquefied natural gas receiving terminals by 2015, doubling its total capacity to 35million – 40 million tonnes per annum.
The expansion from four terminals currently, with a receiving capacity of 18.7 million tpa, will enable China’s top offshore oil explorer to import more LNG to meet strong demand growth in the country, Reuters reported.
China, the world’s top energy consumer, aims to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 8% by 2015 from 5% now to cut emissions from coal and lessen dependence on oil imports.
CNOOC will commission a floating storage regasification unit in the city of Tianjin and a conventional terminal in Zhuhai by year-end, Reuters cited a CNOOC official as saying at an LNG industry conference.
CNOOC has another three terminals that are already being built, Zheng Hongtao, a vice president in the trading and marketing branch of CNOOC Gas and Power, was quoted as saying.
The company imported nearly 11 million tonnes of LNG last year, he added.
CNOOC said in August that it had received government approval to build China’s first floating storage and regasification unit in Tianjin.
– Upstream
