On November 15th, on the northeast side of Longxue Island, Guangzhou, adjacent to Nansha Port, the largest port in Guangdong, in the Longxue Shipbuilding Base, a giant ship with a length of 184.7 meters and a width of 28.1 meters, with a bright red hull, ushered in the “moment of rebirth”.It is “Offshore Oil 301", our country's first 30,000 cubic meters LNG (liquefied natural gas) carrier. After undergoing the transformation of our country's first LNG carrier filling function, it has become the world's largest LNG transport filling ship, and will provide flexible filling services for LNG ships at sea in our country.

"Offshore Oil 301" was originally an LNG carrier. After it was put into use in September 2015, it was mainly used for short-range LNG transshipment between domestic coastal receiving stations.The filling transformation project has realized the filling function by adding key equipment such as gas combustion devices, ship-to-ship filling systems, and re-liquefaction devices, as well as supporting security systems, fire-fighting systems, automation systems, and hull fitting. Among them, many technologies such as liquefied natural gas filling systems and gas combustion devices are the first in China.

It is the first time in China that a liquefied natural gas carrier has been transformed into a transportation filling ship.Compared with traditional filling methods, ship-to-ship filling can realize the simultaneous operation of cargo loading and unloading and fuel filling, shorten the time for ships to dock, and greatly enhance the international competitiveness of the port.After the transformation, ”Offshore Oil 301" has a design filling capacity of 1,650 cubic meters per hour, which can provide LNG fuel filling services for large container ships, dual-fuel bulk carriers, automobile ro-ro ships, etc.

With the rapid development of global trade and the shipping industry, ship emissions have become one of the important causes of air pollution in route areas and port cities. As a clean primary energy source, the use of liquefied natural gas has received more and more attention.Data show that the global number of ocean-going LNG-powered ships in 2021 will reach 251, an increase of more than double from 119 in 2017; orders for LNG-powered ships in 2021 will be 225, an increase of 3 times compared to 56 in 2020.

At present, CNOOC is actively building liquefied natural gas filling centers in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and other regions.Liquefied natural gas on-water filling is a key link in the liquefied natural gas industry chain. This transformation project has kicked off the prelude to China's coastal liquefied natural gas on-water filling business and has played an active role in building an international ship filling center for liquefied natural gas and promoting energy transformation and green development.(Source of information: China National Offshore Oil News)