CNOOC to increase gas supply to the north

China National Offshore Oil Corp said it would provide more liquefied natural gas resources to northern parts of the country this winter, with truck delivery set to meet increasing demand to avoid shortages.

The company will send out trucks to travel more than 2,000 kilometers from CNOOC's main LNG receiving terminals in the south to relieve gas shortages in the north, if necessary.

The decision comes amid the government's efforts to minimize pollution and encourage higher gas usage to replace coal for heating in winter.

Last winter, the company sent 669 million cubic meters of natural gas through pipelines and 23,600 metric tons of LNG to the north from its Zhuhai, Yuedong and Dapeng terminals in Guangdong province. More than 500 trucks, each with a carrying capacity of 20 tons of LNG, were sent out every day to northern China during the heating season to ensure sufficient gas supply.

Li Li, research director at energy consulting company ICIS China, said there are currently no pipelines running north to south, and the only way to ship the LNG is via trucks.

As a pioneer in China's LNG sector, CNOOC built the country's first LNG terminal in 2006. It now operates nine LNG terminals nationwide. Only one, the Tianjin LNG terminal, is located in the north, but it is already operating at full capacity. The rest are scattered in southern regions, including Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces, and Shanghai.

The company's ninth LNG terminal entered operation in early August, its fourth in Guangdong, with a receiving capacity of 4 million tons per year.

The company has stepped up construction of its LNG infrastructure facilities in recent years to provide sufficient natural gas to meet the nation's increasing demand. It plans to set up more LNG terminals on the eastern coast and to enlarge the current LNG terminal in Tianjin to increase its receiving capacity.

The company has also vowed to diversify its overseas LNG sources in addition to that in Australia, to ensure supply.

CNOOC has so far imported more than 120 million tons of LNG, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 400 million tons, according to the company.