Chinese privately-owned gas distributor ENN has started commercial operations at the Zhoushan LNG receiving terminal in Zhejiang province, following months of trial operations.
ENN said on Friday, the facility is the first privately-owned large-scale LNG receiving terminal approved by the National Energy Administration.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Cai Gang , deputy director of the Zheijang Provincial Development and Reform Commission as well as the Energy Bureau, said the annual natural gas consumption and supply gap in the province is increasing. He noted the facility will play an important role in maintaining supply.
The facility also includes 14 LNG-truck loading bays, and ENN has readied a fleet of 400 trucks to serve the market during the upcoming winter and serve as an insurance plan should China experience a natural gas crunch as it did last winter.
In August, the terminal received a Qatari cargo onboard the 145,500-cbm LNG carrier Stena Blue Sky. AIS data provided by VesselsValue shows the 160,000-cbm LNG carrier Asia Integrity is currently docked at the terminal.
The facility has the capacity to handle 3 million tons of LNG, however, the company has already unveiled and submitted expansion plans to the Zhejiang provincial energy bureau.
China’s ENN previously signed several LNG supply deals for about 1.5 million tonnes per annum for delivery to its Zhousan terminal.
The deals were signed with France’s Total , US-based Chevron and Australia’s Origin Energy .
The proposed investment of 2.2 billion Chinese yuan ($389.4 million) will see the facility’s capacity reach 5 mtpa. The second phase is expected to come online in the first half of 2021. ENN added the terminal could be expanded to 10 mtpa in the future.
LNG World News Staff