Self-built 220,000 cubic meter LNG storage tank successfully reached its topping-out stage in Yancheng, Jiangsu

According to Li Feng, the on-site supervisor of China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s Jiangsu LNG project, the pressurized capping of large LNG storage tanks is akin to completing the roof structure of a building; it represents the most technically challenging phase in tank construction and requires the highest standards in terms of safety. It is understood that the 220,000 cubic meter storage tank upgraded this time has set a new record for the largest capacity of LNG storage tanks in China to date. Compared to conventional 160,000-cubic-meter storage tanks, the dome of a 220,000-cubic-meter tank has a 30% higher weight and an area that is nearly 1,000 square meters larger; this is equivalent to lifting a \"giant\" with an area comparable to that of a football field and a weight of 940 tons into the air using air pressure. Due to various technical challenges such as large spans, large tank diameters, low horizontal stiffness, and complex natural vibration modes of the tank structure, currently only South Korea and Japan in the world have experience in building LNG tanks with a capacity of over 220,000 cubic meters.

Zhang Chao, head of CNOOC’s LNG storage tank design team, told Knews reporters that in the design and construction of this 220,000 cubic meter LNG storage tank, CNOOC successfully overcame various design challenges associated with ultra-large storage tanks, such as the stability of large-span structures and seismic design, thus becoming one of the few companies in the world that possess the core technologies for designing and constructing LNG storage tanks. To achieve independent development in storage tank design and construction technologies, CNOOC established a technical team in 2009 to initiate research on LNG storage tank technology. Through technological innovation, the design and construction of various LNG storage tanks have been completed, including a 30,000-cubic-meter LNG tank in Tianjin, as well as multiple 160,000-cubic-meter LNG tanks in Fujian and Zhejiang. This has led to a historic breakthrough in China’s capabilities in terms of LNG storage tank technology, enabling the country to become one of the few in the world capable of designing and constructing large-scale LNG storage tanks. The successful completion of the construction of the 220,000 cubic meter LNG storage tank in Jiangsu marked the beginning of the construction of ultra-large LNG storage tanks in China, making such large-scale tanks the main component in the development of LNG storage facilities in the country.

The Jiangsu Binhai LNG project is a receiving station built in the Binhai Port Area of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, designed to provide base load, peak shaving, and storage services. The total investment in the project is approximately 7.025 billion yuan, with a capacity to receive 3 million tons of LNG per year. Once the project is completed and put into operation, it will not only help optimize Jiangsu Province’s energy structure, improve the quality of life for its residents, and enhance the air quality, but it will also play a significant role in strengthening the capacity to ensure a stable supply of natural gas in Jiangsu Province and surrounding areas, as well as increasing the flexibility and reliability of natural gas supply. China National Chemical Engineering 14th Construction Corporation is responsible for the installation of Units 1 and 2 of this project; its 220,000 cubic meter full-volume concrete storage tank is the largest LNG storage tank of its kind in China, having been designed and constructed independently.

The Jiangsu Binhai LNG project is a receiving station built in the Binhai Port Area of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, designed to provide base load, peak shaving, and storage services. The total investment in the project is approximately 7.025 billion yuan, with a capacity to receive 3 million tons of LNG per year. Once the project is completed and put into operation, it will not only help optimize Jiangsu Province’s energy structure, improve the quality of life for its residents, and enhance the air quality, but it will also play a significant role in strengthening the capacity to ensure a stable supply of natural gas in Jiangsu Province and surrounding areas, as well as increasing the flexibility and reliability of natural gas supply. China National Chemical Engineering 14th Construction Corporation is responsible for the installation of Units 1 and 2 of this project; its 220,000 cubic meter full-volume concrete storage tank is the largest LNG storage tank of its kind in China, having been designed and constructed independently.

The Jiangsu Binhai LNG project is a receiving station built in the Binhai Port Area of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, designed to provide base load, peak shaving, and storage services. The total investment in the project is approximately 7.025 billion yuan, with a capacity to receive 3 million tons of LNG per year. Once the project is completed and put into operation, it will not only help optimize Jiangsu Province’s energy structure, improve the quality of life for its residents, and enhance the air quality, but it will also play a significant role in strengthening the capacity to ensure a stable supply of natural gas in Jiangsu Province and surrounding areas, as well as increasing the flexibility and reliability of natural gas supply. China National Chemical Engineering 14th Construction Corporation is responsible for the installation of Units 1 and 2 of this project; its 220,000 cubic meter full-volume concrete storage tank is the largest LNG storage tank of its kind in China, having been designed and constructed independently.

To ensure the smooth progress of this pneumatic jacking operation, China National Chemical Engineering 14th Construction Corporation formed an expert team to thoroughly study various solutions; it was decided to adopt a distributed balance system approach, utilizing 24 sets of balanced steel cables in a crossed configuration for the pneumatic jacking of the storage tanks. This method can effectively control the circumferential and horizontal displacements of the arch roof during its upward movement, ensure that all parameters remain within the specified limits, and enable the pneumatic jacking process to be completed smoothly and successfully. During the jacking process, Sinochem 14th Chemical Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. also implemented an intelligent monitoring system for tank posture, which not only provided digital support for the gas jacking operations and technical backing for subsequent data analysis, but also ensured that construction safety and quality remained under strict control at all times. Through relentless efforts, the tank jacking task was ultimately completed successfully.

In recent years, China National Chemical Engineering 14th Construction Corporation has, thanks to its advanced construction techniques for large-scale LNG storage tanks, undertaken a number of major projects involving such tanks. These include the installation of an LNG distribution and transfer station at the Lüsi Port area of Guanghui Energy (featuring 160,000 cubic meters of LNG storage tanks), the construction of an ethane storage facility with 160,000 cubic meters of storage capacity at Lianyungang Petrochemical Co., Ltd., the PDH propane dehydrogenation to produce polypropylene project at the Formosa Plastics (Ningbo) Industrial Park (involving 160,000 cubic meters of propane storage tanks), and the 2×200,000 cubic meter LNG storage tank project for Caofeidian Xintian LNG Co., Ltd. in Tangshan, Hebei Province. Through these projects, the company has mastered advanced construction techniques in this field. The successful completion of the gas jacking of the 220,000 cubic meter LNG2# storage tank has once again set a new construction record. During the subsequent construction phase, China Chemical Engineering 14th Construction Company will make full use of its technical and managerial strengths. Adhering to the service philosophy that \"customer satisfaction is our eternal goal,\" it will ensure proper planning and control in terms of safety, quality, and schedule, so as to complete the project construction to high standards and high quality, thereby making a significant contribution to the project’s completion and operation by 2021

It was on Dongfang TV today. According to the introduction, once the project is completed and in operation, the amount of CO2 reduced per year will be equivalent to that resulting from planting 20 million trees.