China to spearhead Asia LNG regasification capacity additions through 2027

China is expected to witness the highest liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification capacity additions in Asia between 2023 and 2027, contributing about 35% of the region’s total capacity additions by 2027, says GlobalData, a the data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, LNG Industry Outlook by Capacity and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) Including Details of All Operating and Planned Terminals to 2027, shows that China is likely to witness a total LNG regasification capacity additions of 7,662 billion cubic feet (bcf) from new build and expansion projects during the outlook period. Of this, 5,196bcf is expected to come from new build terminals and while the remaining capacity will be from the expansion of the existing regasification terminals.

Himani Pant Pandey, Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “China is rapidly expanding its regasification capacity to meet its ever-growing demand of natural gas in the country. The capacity additions will also help it to replace coal with gas for power generation and meet its carbon neutral objectives.” 

The announced Zhoushan II terminal will be the largest contributor to the LNG regasification capacity additions in China by 2027. The terminal is expected to start operations in 2025 with a capacity of 292bcf, which is further expected to increase to 584bcf by 2027.

Yantai I is the second-largest terminal in China in terms of LNG regasification capacity additions by 2027. Yantai LNG Group is the proposed operator of this planned terminal and POLY GCL Petroleum Investment Ltd holds a 100% stake in the project. The terminal is expected to start operations in 2024 with an estimated capacity of 287 bcf, which is further expected to increase to 487bcf by 2027.

Pandey concludes: “Among the expansion projects, Qingdao regasification terminal will be the largest contributor to the capacity additions in China, with 341bcf of capacity expected to be added by 2024.”