China has made concrete progress in shipbuilding. In September 2007, the first LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) ship made by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) will be delivered, reported the state-run Xinhua News Agency on February 19, 2007.
The LNG ship has a capacity of around 47,199 cubic meter and is currently under-construction by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, an arm of CSSC, the topmost shipping group in China and third largest in the world.
The technology of LNG shipbuilding is the most sophisticated in the world and will place the Chinese shipbuilding industry in a more profitable position as against its competitors. Only Japan, Republic of Korea, and some European countries have obtained the technologies to make such kind of ocean liners.
Four more such kinds of LNG ships are under-construction and will be delivered by 2007 end. China is ramping up its R&D facilities for the development of LNG vessels with a huge capacity of 200,000 cubic meter, said CSSC.
Since natural gas can be converted into liquid state only at a temperature below minus 163°C, LNG vessels are often called as the “marine super freezer”.
According to the RNCOS report “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in China”, with dynamic economic growth, environment regulations, rising oil prices, growing LNG shipbuilding industry, and declining liquefaction costs, energy imports by China are projected to go upward further. The country is predicted to be an important LNG importer for Australia and Middle East in the Asia-Pacific region. Although China has grand plans for developing its LNG industry but it needs substantial financing from both domestic and international arenas that is acting as a bottleneck alongwith high LNG prices for the development of Chinese LNG industry.
The market research report is a work of in-depth analysis comprising information on Chinese LNG industry including demand and supply position in the country, LNG import infrastructure (with focus on major LNG terminals of China), LNG pricing, industry analysis (driving forces, opportunities, and challenges), and gas sector regulatory framework in China. The report also discusses the LNG market scenario at global level, like LNG gas reserves and potential, trade and supply volume, and capital expenditure on LNG projects (covering the timeframe of 2000 to 2009).
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