China's LNG bunkering demand could hit around 2.5mn t by 2030, up from an estimated 650,000t in 2025, according to forecasts presented by state-owned Sinopec at the Chongqing Gas Exchange winter conference on 16 October.
The company expects demand to continue rising to 7mn t by 2035 and estimates that around 30 additional LNG bunkering vessels (LNGBVs) will be needed to bunker LNG for customers by then.
China's LNG bunkering market remains at an early stage but has expanded rapidly in recent years, with volumes reaching 1.49mn m³ in 2025 from 780,000m³ in 2024, equivalent to about 650,000t, according to data from local ports and customs authorities.
Currently, three companies — Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), CNPC and CNOOC — operate bonded LNG ship-to-ship bunkering services in China, with a combined fleet of five LNGBVs.
While ammonia, methanol and other low carbon fuels are expected to play a larger role in the future, LNG will remain the most practical option for shipping decarbonisation in the coming decades because of its lower costs, established infrastructure and higher level of technological readiness, Sinopec said.
SIPG subsidiary SIPG Energy said today that its 20,000m³ LNG bunkering vessel Hai Gang Wei Lai supplied bonded LNG to the French-flagged 8,048-twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) LNG dual-fuel containership CMA CGM Taormina at the Shanghai port.
