Asian duo wins $810 million LNG terminal expansion gig in Taiwan

Taiwanese state-owned petroleum, natural gas, and gasoline company CPC Corporation has awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Taiwan’s EPC services provider CTCI Corporation and Japan’s IHI Plant Services Corporation (IPC), part of IHI Group for the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cryogenic tanks at its Kaohsiung LNG terminal.

The four above-ground, double-domed tanks are set to have a storage capacity of 180,000 cubic meters (cbm) each. Valued at NT$26.6 billion, or approximately $810 million, the project is slated to be completed by late 2030.

Michael Yang, CTCI Chairman, said: “CTCI’s partnership with IHI Corporation has spanned over two decades. With extensive track record and project management experience, we’re confident that this project will become another success.

“The tank storage project will serve as another example of CTCI’s commitment to safeguarding the Earth’s sustainability, as we choose to adopt environmentally-friendly ‘Green Engineering’ technologies and intelligent technologies to expedite greenhouse gas emissions reduction and energy saving.”

The tanks are said to be a key part of CPC’s investment in setting up a storage and transport terminal for its petrochemical and refinery products at Taiwan’s southern shore. A boost in LNG storage capacity is anticipated to stabilize the gas supply in the south, enabling it to be redistributed across the island by land and sea.

Due to the predicted increase in the demand for natural gas, which is anticipated to take up 50% of the energy mix for electricity generation in Taiwan, the country is seeking to diversify its sources and taking steps to reach net zero emissions.

Aiming to reduce the country’s dependency on coal, Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment greenlit the construction of an LNG import terminal in Kaohsiung in December 2024. Scheduled to be completed in 2031, the terminal is expected to supply 6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG.

In line with its decarbonization efforts, CPC signed a 10-year sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Woodside Energy in July 2024 for the latter to provide around 6 million tonnes of LNG for ten years, with an option to deliver an additional 8.4 million tonnes.