FSRU Bauhinia Spirit berths in preparation for launch of Hong Kong’s first offshore LNG terminal project

Hong Kong utility firms CLP Power and HK Electric announced recently that the much anticipated floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) vessel has berthed at the new offshore LNG terminal in Hong Kong waters, following the completion of checks and clearance procedures. Final preparations are being made for the terminal to go into operation in mid-2023 as an initiative by the two companies to help increase low-carbon power generation.

CLP Power managing director T K Chiang said. “CLP Power has adopted a fuel diversity strategy since the early 1990s for supply reliability, competitive cost and environmental benefits. To complement the HKSAR Government’s energy policy, we have substantially increased the proportion of natural gas in our fuel mix to around 50% since 2020.”

Natural gas is a transition fuel that supports Hong Kong’s journey towards its 2050 carbon neutrality target by lowering the carbon intensity of power generation.

The offshore Jetty terminal in the southwestern waters of Hong Kong is the first of its kind in the city. It has been developed and constructed jointly by CLP Power and HK Electric and will be operated by the Hong Kong LNG Terminal Limited (HKLTL), a joint venture between the two companies. Construction started in late 2020 and the marine jetty and subsea gas pipelines of the terminal have been completed. 

The FSRU vessel, named Bauhinia Spirit and classed by Bureau Veritas (BV), is the world’s largest with an overall length of 345m and an LNG storage capacity of 263,000m3. HKLTL has signed a long-term time charter agreement with Japan’s MOL. The vessel will be moored at the jetty of the LNG terminal and be used to receive, store and regasify LNG before it is supplied to CLP Power’s Black Point Power Station and HK Electric’s Lamma Power Station through two separate subsea gas pipelines.

Credit @ Hong Kong Maritime Hub