State-held Chinese offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC is preparing to open up its domestic LNG import terminals to third-party access. This policy will be implemented after two trial runs in late 2018 and comes in the wake of several gas market reforms following the Chinese government’s push to set up a national pipeline company.
Each third-party user will have to take in a minimum of four cargoes per year (around 260,000 tons) over a 10-year period. The requirements could be increased over time but this question will be subject to further bilateral discussions with the concerned parties. Half of the allocated volumes will come directly from CNOOC’s long-term contract portfolio, while the other half will give third-party users the flexibility of direct procurement in the international market.
Chinese LNG terminals received record amounts of LNG in 2018. CNOOC reported that its Zhejiang LNG regasification terminal in Ningbo received 80 carriers in 2018, i.e. a total of 5.47 Mt, which represents 52% more than in 2017.