Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) delivered the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on a Q-Max LNG carrier to the Tianjin LNG Receiving Terminal in China, the company announced Tuesday.
Al Mafyar, the cargo aboard the Qatargas-chartered LNG vessel, was loaded at Ras Laffan, located in the north of Doha, on Oct. 21 and delivered to the Tianjin Terminal, located in the northern port city of Tianjin, near Beijing, on Nov. 10.
According to the company's statement, this is the first cargo discharge operation by Qatargas to this LNG terminal involving a Q-Max LNG carrier, which is the largest LNG vessel class in the world with the ability to deliver 266 thousand cubic meters of LNG.
The Tianjin LNG Receiving Terminal that is owned and operated by the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), one of China’s largest state-owned enterprises, has a capacity of 6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and is currently under expansion to handle up to 10.8 mtpa by 2022, the statement said.
Qatargas has to date delivered LNG cargoes to 13 LNG terminals in China, where there are currently a total of 22 LNG receiving terminals including three small-scale terminals, 11 of which can accommodate Q-Max LNG vessels.
The Al Mafyar is the first Q-Max LNG vessel to call at the Tianjin LNG receiving terminal and the 100th LNG vessel to call at the terminal in 2020, the statement affirmed.
Ever since the first LNG cargo to China in September 2009, more than 62 million tonnes of LNG have been delivered to China in total.
By Busranur Begcecanli
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr