Hong Kong LNG terminal starts operation

Business Developments & Projects

July 17, 2023, by Aida Čučuk

Hong Kong’s new offshore LNG terminal, jointly developed and constructed by power companies CLP Power Hong Kong and the Hongkong Electric (HK Electric), has gone into operation.

The first LNG shipment under a long-term supply agreement has arrived, and the LNG was unloaded and stored in the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) vessel moored at the terminal, the companies announced, adding that regasified LNG is now being sent to CLP Power’s Black Point Power Station and HK Electric’s Lamma Power Station.

To note, the FSRU moored at the jetty of the terminal, named Bauhinia Spirit, is known as the world’s largest FSRU vessel and has an LNG storage capacity of 263,000 cubic meters.

CLP Power Managing Director Joseph Law said: “Decarbonization calls for urgent action. The offshore LNG terminal is a significant step towards helping Hong Kong achieve carbon neutrality before 2050 and strengthen the security of its gas supply…”

“This new strategic gas facility enables Hong Kong to access competitively priced natural gas from international markets, which will further enhance the diversity of our gas supply sources and give us additional flexibility and supply security to ensure an orderly transition to carbon neutrality in support of the city’s climate targets.”

HK Electric’s Managing Director Francis Cheng commented: “The offshore LNG terminal gives us additional fuel supply security and reliability… The completion of the project also enables us to procure LNG from more diverse sources and with more bargaining power…”

Both companies stressed their support for the government’s target of achieving carbon neutrality, informing they will continue to explore zero-carbon energy sources.

To remind, CLP Power and HK Electric signed a long-term LNG supply agreement with Shell Eastern Trading, a subsidiary of Shell, before construction of the terminal began.

The first shipment of around 139,000 cubic meters of LNG is sufficient to meet the monthly electricity needs of around 1.5 million residential households, based on a typical three-member household in Hong Kong using 275 units of electricity a month, the power companies said.