Sinopec starts regasified LNG injections at Wen23

China's state-controlled energy firm Sinopec has started injecting regasified LNG into its new and largest underground gas storage site Wen23 at the Zhongyuan field in central Henan province.

The Wen23 storage site began receiving injections of regasified LNG from 20 April. The LNG received at Sinopec's 3mn t/yr Tianjin terminal in northern China is delivered to Wen23 via the Sinopec-operated Erdos-Anping-Cangzhou gas pipeline.

The 7bn m³ first phase of the pipeline started operations in mid-November last year.

The call on LNG at the Tianjin terminal is likely to increase now that it is connected to Wen 23 through the Erdos-Anping-Cangzhou pipeline. The terminal is expected to receive around 5mn t of LNG imports this year, up from the 2.89mn t it received last year, according to terminal operator Sinopec Tianjin LNG.

The terminal began operations early last year, after receiving its first LNG cargo in early February 2018.

Sinopec is expanding gas supply capacity at the terminal to 45mn m³/d ahead of the next heating season, as required by the country's top economic planner the NDRC.

Sinopec is also gearing up to start expansion work at the terminal. This had been approved by the NDRC in October last year. The expansion project involves the construction of five 220,000m³ storage tanks and associated pressurisation, regasification and delivery units, with work expected to be completed by 2021.

Sinopec also began injecting locally produced gas into two well fields at the Wen23 storage site in March.

The firm plans to inject least 2bn m³ of gas into the Wen23 site this year but will supply only around 700mn m³ of gas during the next heating season, which begins in November.

The requirement to keep sufficient cushion gas to maintain pressure in the cavern will prevent Sinopec from withdrawing more gas from the facility.

Wen23 has a total design capacity of 10.43bn m³ and nameplate working capacity of 4.47bn m³, including 8.43bn m³ and 3.27bn m³, respectively, in the first phase that has a total of seven well fields. The site is capable of injecting 18mn m³/d of gas from late March to end-October, while supplying up to 36mn m³/d from mid-November to mid-March.

Sinopec has two other operational gas storage facilities — Wen96, which is also located at the Zhongyuan field, and the Jintan site in the eastern province of Jiangsu. Wen96, which is separate from the new Wen23 site, has a total design capacity of 588mn m³ and nameplate working capacity of 295mn m³. The Jintan site has a total design capacity of 495mn m³ and nameplate working capacity of 281mn m³.