GAS FOR CHINA WILL UP

PLATTS - 28 Oct 2021  - China's big three national oil companies -- PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC -- plan to supply about 166.5 billion cu m of natural gas in the 2021-22 winter-spring heating season, up 11.5% from the actual supplied level of around 149.4 Bcm in the last heating season, S&P Global Platts calculations based on information from the three companies showed.

The increase in supply should help alleviate some of the price pressure in the domestic gas market as trucked LNG prices have soared to more than Yuan 7,000/mt ($1,093.82/mt), imported LNG remains over $30/MMBtu in the spot market and wider energy shortages persist amid cold weather.
Sinopec plans to supply 27 Bcm of natural gas in the coming heating season, the company said on its official website Oct. 27, higher than around 21.4 Bcm it supplied in the last heating season, Platts calculations showed.

Supply from Sinopec's gas fields, including Puguang, Yuanba, Fuling and Daniudi, is expected to be 13.24 Bcm in the heating season, up 3% year on year, the company said, which means most of its incremental gas supply will come from imports.

Sinopec signed a 10-year deal with Qatar for the supply of 2 million mt/year of LNG, under which cargoes will start delivery from January 2022.

Its subsidiary Unipec purchased more than 50-60 LNG cargoes via strip tenders for deliveries over June 2021-March 2022, though a few cargoes were resold over June-August due to high inventories and spot prices at that time.

Sinopec's gas storages have built up a working volume of 1.79 Bcm, up 44% from the last heating season, the company said. It has launched two 160,000 cu m LNG storage tanks at Qingdao LNG terminal since October, and plans to start its Tianjin LNG terminal phase two by end-November to boost gas peak shaving capacity.

In order to ensure stable supply during the heating season, Sinopec has signed more gas sales contracts with its buyers this year, with contract volume rising 13% year on year, it said.

Meanwhile, CNOOC secured 26.8 Bcm of natural gas for supply this winter, the company said on its official WeChat platform Oct. 26, higher than the 24 Bcm it supplied in the last heating season, Platts calculations showed.

CNOOC saw an obvious growth in domestic gas production this year, the company said, including the Lingshui 17-2 deepwater gas field, or the Deep Sea No. 1 gas field, in the South China Sea, which reached full operation in September after starting on June 25, and is estimated to add 3 Bcm to annual gas output.

The company said it also increased its LNG imports, which were up 26% year on year over the January-September period.

It said it recently signed a 15-year contract with Qatar for the supply of 3.5 million mt/year LNG starting from January 2022, helping guarantee winter supply.

CNOOC has also signed more gas sales contracts with its buyers so far this year, of which the company's contract volume with gas-fired power plants in key areas such as Tianjin, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan rose by 20% year on year, it said.

Meanwhile, PetroChina had previously announced it plans to supply more than 100 Bcm of natural gas for this heating season, up by 8.4% year on year. The company estimated to have supplied nearly 104 Bcm of natural gas in the last heating season. An 8.4% year-on-year growth would be around 112.7 Bcm in this heating season, according to Platts calculations.

PetroChina's natural gas production and imports this year are expected to grow by 3.3% and 17% year on year, respectively. The gas working volume at its gas storages is also expected to increase, rising 16.3% year on year, the company said.

China previously said it had prepared a total 174.4 Bcm of natural gas for the 2021-22 winter-spring season, and would continue to boost gas supply to tap the potential of natural gas, according to a government report published Oct. 16, citing Zhao Chenxin, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission.

After accounting for the bulk of supply from the big three NOCs, the remaining volume will come from other state-owned gas suppliers and provincial gas storage to guarantee winter supply.

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