China to launch new import terminal to receive LNG from Exxon

Guangdong Energy Group of China is set to launch next week commercial operations at a new LNG import terminal, which U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil can use under a long-term agreement, Reuters reported on September 26, citing industry sources.

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The LNG receiving terminal in Huizhou in the province of Guangdong, southern China, has the capacity to handle 4 million metric tons of LNG per year and cost $1 billion to complete.

The LNG import site has already received its first LNG cargo. A shipment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrived in August in a trial operation, according to Reuters’s sources.

ExxonMobil has been exploring opportunities to deliver LNG to China to advance the Chinese energy transition.

In September 2018, ExxonMobil and Guangdong Provincial People’s Government signed a strategic cooperation agreement for a proposed world-scale chemical complex and gas supply to the proposed Huizhou LNG terminal in southern China. In October 2018, ExxonMobil signed a heads of agreement to supply Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group with 1 million metric tons per year of LNG for 20 years, starting in the early 2020s.

In December 2023, Exxon agreed to use the new terminal to handle 1.8 million tons of the LNG per year under a 20-year agreement with Guangdong Energy, one of the sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters.

Guangdong Energy, a utility that imports large volumes of gas, is backed by the provincial government.

A representative for ExxonMobil China confirmed to Reuters there is an agreement between the U.S. supermajor and the company for access to the LNG import terminal.

ExxonMobil, through its affiliates and LNG joint ventures, produces 23 metric tons per year of LNG globally. With LNG suppliers the U.S. supermajor currently delivers the super-chilled fuel to 30 countries.

Exxon considers its LNG operations advantaged assets with priority for development and growth, together with oil and gas production in the Permian, Guyana, and Brazil.