CNOOC to Open Terminal to Third-Parties on SHPGX

CNOOC recently said in an official statement on August 27 to open one of its terminals to third-party LNG importers by tender on the platform of SHPGX. The bidding window will be in September for October delivery. The statement was posted on SHPGX’s website simultaneously. The procedure of the tender will be published later on.

CNOOC Gas & Power Group, CNOOC’s LNG import arm, has decided to start the experimental open-up for third parties, and the demonstration sites were planned to be Dapeng Terminal and Zhuhai Terminal. In this pilot program, the third parties were delineated within shareholders of the two terminals, and those shareholders may gain their own import windows beside CNOOC’s scheduled ones according to their stakes respectively.

Note: Excluded all governmental investment capitals, foreign investment capitals and port companies. Source: SCI

The tender seems to be another pilot program, aiming to diversify the players on the ground and guarantee the peak-shaving and emergency storage in the winter heating season, which is facing a severe potential supply shortage as expected. The wholly free open-up pattern was implemented by CNPC once on its Rudong Terminal once in 2016, and several gas companies such as China Huadian Group benefited from the experiments, but the pilot program was halted by CNPC in 2017 and 2018. It is believed after the demonstration of CNOOC’s South China terminals, many other NOC-owned terminals will open-up gradually, sharing their spare import windows with other non-NOC players.