Hong Kong's CLP Power and HK Electric said July 13 that the first LNG shipment under a long-term supply agreement had arrived at a new offshore LNG terminal jointly developed and constructed by the two companies, paving way for the start of operations there.
The offshore LNG terminal, located in the southwestern waters of Hong Kong, is the "first of its kind in the territory," the companies said in a statement, and will not only help Hong Kong raise its power generation capacity but also aid its energy transition journey.
The LNG cargo has already been unloaded and stored at the floating storage and regasification unit -- the Bauhinia Spirit -- moored at the jetty of the terminal, the companies said, adding that regasified LNG is being sent to CLP Power's Black Point Power Station and HK Electric's Lamma Power Station.
The Bauhinia Spirit is among the world's largest FSRUs and has an LNG storage capacity of 236,000 cu m. The Q-Max class Bauhinia Spirit, provided by a joint venture between Japanese shipping conglomerate Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and petroleum storage infrastructure company Vopak, was previously deployed in Singapore.
The power companies said they had inked an agreement with Shell subsidiary Shell Eastern Trading before construction of the terminal commenced, with Shell supplying LNG to the companies from its global portfolio.
"The first shipment of around 139,000 cu m LNG is sufficient to meet the monthly electricity needs of around 1.5 million residential households, based on a typical three-member household in Hong Kong using 275 units of electricity a month," the companies added.
Meeting many objectives
"This new strategic gas facility enables Hong Kong to access competitively priced natural gas from international markets, which will further enhance the diversity of our gas supply sources and give us additional flexibility and supply security to ensure an orderly transition to carbon neutrality in support of the city's climate targets," CLP Power Managing Director Joseph Law said.
The offshore LNG terminal also marks a significant step toward helping Hong Kong achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, he added.
Meanwhile, HK Electric MD Francis Cheng noted that the offshore LNG terminal gave the company additional fuel supply security and reliability while also helping it "procure LNG from more diverse sources and with more bargaining power."
"HK Electric has been supporting the Government in achieving its decarbonization target for 2035," Cheng said.
The new supply comes as commissioning of the gas-fired combined-cycle generating unit L12 in 2024 is underway, which would also advance the company's GHG emissions reduction pathway.
"To support the Government's target in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, HK Electric will continue to keep an eye on innovative advanced technologies including hydrogen fuel, and keep an open mind about other suitable zero-carbon generation solutions," Cheng added.