Shanghai on Monday launched a major energy supply project to
transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Malaysia to the east
China economic hub over the next 25 years.
Construction began on Monday on the first phase of the Shanghai
LNG project, set to go into operation in 2009, Shanghai Mayor Han
Zheng announced on Monday.
Shanghai LNG Co. Ltd. reached a deal with a subsidiary of
Petronas, Malaysia's national petroleum corporation, on July 31,
under which the terminal will receive LNG from Malaysia from 2009.
The project was approved by the National Development and Reform
Commission in December.
The annual supply should stand at 1.1 million tons in the first
three years, rising to 3 million tons from 2012.
The Shanghai terminal will be located in the Yangshan deep-water
port, an international shipping center in Shengsi County in
neighboring Zhejiang Province, at the mouth of the Yangtze
River, located around 45 km from the Pudong International
Airport.
The first phase will see a total investment of 7 billion yuan
(US$900 million) and include three 165,000-ton concrete tanks as
well as a dock that can anchor ships from 80,000 to 200,000 cubic
meters.
Sources with the Shanghai LNG Co. Ltd. said the second phase of
the project would increase import capacity by another 3 million
tons a year, but no detailed timetable was available.
The project, along with China's west-to-east gas pipeline and the East China
Sea gas project, will help meet Shanghai's rising energy demands
while improving energy efficiency and slashing emissions, said a
spokesman with the National Development and Reform Commission.
The deal is the largest trade contract between China and
Malaysia.
Petronas draws its natural gas supplies from the Bintulu region,
one of the world's largest LNG production bases in eastern
Malaysia. It boasts an annual output of 23 million tons and
supplies mainly to countries like Japan and the Republic of
Korea.
(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2007)