Beijing Gas Looking to Charter Floating Storage Unit

Beijing Gas Group is looking to charter a floating storage unit (FSU) for short term to prevent scheduling difficulties of its LNG deliveries in winters, reported ICIS.

The state owned utility is planning to procure spot LNG again this year and wants to moor the FSU near state-owned PetroChina’s Caofeidian terminal in case it has to divert a vessel again, market sources told ICIS.

Last year, the utility bought two LNG cargoes. The second delivery was rescheduled when PetroChina encountered technical and operational issues at its Caofeidian LNG terminal and pipeline gas network.

“The second cargo was diverted and discharged into PetroChina’s Dalian terminal on 1 January, but the company had to swap the LNG for pipeline gas at Caofeidian so it could send the supply to Beijing,” a source told ICIS. “It was a logistical and operational nightmare for everyone involved,” a second source said.

In 2015, Beijing consumed 14.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas.