BEIJING, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Beijing signed off on plans for the country's first offshore liquefied natural gas facility for the eastern port city of Tianjin, an energy company said.
The China National Offshore Oil Corp. in April formalized a deal with French energy company GDF Suez for a floating liquefied natural gas vessel for the Tianjin port.
CNOOC said the facility will be a first for China, representing a $539 million investment. A national development commission signed off on the plan last month. CNOOC said Wednesday the government gave final approval for the LNG import terminal, the Platts news service reports.
The floating LNG terminal will be in place by October. It's designed to process approximately 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year. The floating LNG vessel will be contracted from GDF Suez to CNOOC.
China is taking on more natural gas as its economy is expected to expand by 7.7 percent next year.
