Page 13 - AsianOil Week 46

AsianOil EAST ASIA AsianOil

country’s upstream players come under mount- on October 30, the bourse’s launch date for LNG
ing pressure to step up deliveries during the win- trading. Sinopec is expected to purchase several
ter heating season, which started on November 65,000-tonne cargoes from the international mar-
15 and runs until March 15. ket over the next few months, the official Xinhua
Sinopec, for its part, pledged on November news agency reported at the time.
16 to boost gas supplies this season by 5.3% year Sinopec unloaded the world’s largest LNG
on year to 20 bcm. The company added that it carrier, Al Mafyar, at its Tianjin terminal in
would increase spot purchases of LNG, with its northern China earlier this month.
terminals in Tianjin and Qingdao set to receive The 345-metre-long vessel, which has a max-
9 bcm this winter. imum carrying capacity of 266,000 cubic metres
Sinopec issued its first tenders to buy LNG on of LNG, delivered 207,000 cubic metres Qatari
the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange LNG on November 10.™

CNOOC to expand Binhai

LNG terminal storage

PROJECTS & CHINA National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) November 17 that two 200,000 cubic metres
COMPANIES intends to add 1.62mn cubic metres of liquefied LNG storage tanks had been completed and
natural gas (LNG) storage capacity at its Binhai commissioned at CNOOC’s Shanghai terminal.
terminal in Jiangsu Province. Natural Gas World quoted the state power gen-
The company will build six 270,000 cubic metre erator as saying the additional tanks brought the
tanks, the State-owned Assets Supervision and terminal’s storage capacity up to 895,000 cubic
Administration Commission of the State Council metres.
(SASAC) announced on November 18, adding that China is ramping up its purchases both to
construction is slated for completion in 2023. meet increasing demand during the country’s
SASAC said the Henan provincial govern- winter heating season, which started on Novem-
ment would invest in two of the tanks and noted ber 15 and runs until March 15, as well as facili-
that this was the first time a local government tate a wider trend of coal-to-gas conversions.
had invested in LNG infrastructure beyond its The country’s main economic planner, the
administrative region. National Development and Reform Commis-
The first phase of the Binhai LNG terminal, sion (NDRC), warned last month that national
which is slated to come online in 2021, involves gas supplies could be tight during December and
the construction of a 3mn tonne per year (tpy) January.
receiving terminal, four 220,000 cubic metre It also emerged in October that the Chinese
storage tanks, supporting pipeline infrastructure Ministry of Ecology and Environment intended
and a thermal power plant (TPP). to replace coal with cleaner sources of energy –
In related news, China National Nuclear including gas – in the heating systems of 7.09mn
Corp. (CNNC) reportedly announced on households by the end of the month.™

Week 46 19•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13