CNOOC to trial LNG deliveries in tank containers by rail

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is working with a railway company to trial delivery of LNG by rail, Wang Si, head of the company’s LNG ISO Tank Container Intermodal Transport Project, told a conference.

The two-year trial will involve sending LNG to central China from four terminals – Guangxi, Zhuhai, Zhejiang and Tianjin. While trucks carrying ISO tanks can serve distances of 500 kilometres, trains will serve longer distances of over 1,000 km, Wang said. Each ISO tank can carry 17-18 tonnes of LNG and the trains will be able to take 50 such tanks, he said.

CNOOC, China’s largest LNG importer, aims to transport 1 Mtpa of LNG using ISO tank containers over 2019-2021, increasing this to 2 Mtpa by 2022-2023, he added. The trial is pending approval from China Rail Company, he said.

CNOOC also plans to use ISO tanks for LNG storage as they are about 30 per cent cheaper than current storage facilities and save space.

For more information visit www.cnoocltd.com

21st October 2019