CNOOC to open 4th LNG terminal

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) announced it had received approval from the National Development and Reform Commission to build its fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal, Reuters reported. The facility, located in Zhejiang province, is expected to begin operations in 2012. It will be able to receive up to 3 million metric tons of LNG each year in its first phase, rising to 6 million metric tons with the completion phase two. Two unnamed local energy companies are also participating in the project. The terminal will include a berth for LNG carriers with capacities between 80,000 and 266,000 cubic meters and three 160,000 cubic-meter storage tanks. CNOOC began operating its first LNG terminal in Guangdong in 2006 and a second opened in Fujian province in May. A third is currently under construction in Shanghai and is expected to come online by the end of the year.