CNOOC to Double LNG Import Capacity by 2015

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) expects to add five liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals by 2015, doubling its total capacity to 35-40 million tonnes per year (tpy), a senior company official said on Wednesday.

The expansion from four terminals currently, with a receiving capacity of 18.7 million tpy, will enable China's top offshore oil explorer to import more LNG to meet strong demand growth in the country.

China, the world's top energy consumer, aims to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 8 percent by 2015 from 5 percent now to cut emissions from coal and lessen dependence on oil imports.

CNOOC will commission a Floating Storage  Regasification Unit (FSRU) in the city of Tianjin and a conventional terminal in Zhuhai by year-end, the official said at an LNG industry conference.

The firm has another three terminals that are already being built, said Zheng Hongtao, a vice president in the trading and marketing branch of CNOOC Gas and Power  Ltd.

The company imported nearly 11 million tonnes of LNG last year, he added.

CNOOC said in August that it had received government approval to build China's first floating storage and regasification unit in Tianjin.