China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) broke ground to mark the start of construction of the country's first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and storage facility near the northern city of Tianjin, the top Chinese LNG importer said on late Thursday.
The project, with an investment cost of 5.7 billion yuan ($904.73 million), would be able receive 2.2 million tonnes of fuel or equivalent to 3 billion cubic metres per year when it starts operation next year, CNOOC said.
Tianjin Port and Tianjin Gas Group Co, a city gas distributor, will also invest in the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).
CNOOC, parent of Hong Kong-listed offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd, did not specify the stake each company holds in the venture.
CNOOC said a planned a second phase for a traditional land-based LNG receiving terminal with an annual capacity of no less than 6 million tonnes was scheduled to be operational by about 2015.
China has been adding onshore receiving terminals along its east coast for imports of super-chilled natural gas shipped by tanker to meet surging domestic demand for the cleaner-burning fuel.
With growing competition among industry giants CNOOC, PetroChina Co Ltd and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and limited sites along the coast, companies have been turning to floating facilities.
Â
