Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Apr. 10 -- Chinese authorities are considering plans to establish two LNG shipping ventures, both to be under the supervision of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).
The official Shanghai Securities News said China Shipping (Group) Co. Ltd., China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) plan to set up an LNG shipping joint venture, with an initial agreement to be reached by the end of June, according to China Shipping Group Pres. Li Shaode.
Li told the newspaper the JV will order carriers from Hudong Shipyard, which is controlled by China State Shipbuilding Corp.
The second JV, Hong Kong-based China LNG Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd. (CLNG)—a JV of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co. and China Merchants Group—is talking with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the newspaper said.
CLNG has ordered five LNG shipping vessels from Hudong Shipyard, one of which is due for delivery in November, the paper said. Current plans call for three of the vessels to ship LNG imported from Australia to Guangdong, while the other two will ship LNG imported from Indonesia to Fujian.
The paper said that under SASAC requirements, the two JV firms will supply different regions of the country.
The China Shipping, CNPC, and Sinopec JV will ship imported LNG to terminals in northern China such as Qingdao, Dalian, and Yingkou.
The CLNG and CNOOC JV will ship imported LNG to terminals in Shanghai and the southern provinces, including Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
