Photo/WeChat post of CNOOC

Three super-sized liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks, which can hold 270,000 cubic meters individually, finished roof construction simultaneously on Wednesday in east China's Jiangsu province.

The roofs of the LNG storage tanks, each about the size of a football field and weighing nearly 1,200 tonnes, were lifted 60 meters high to the top through air pressure, according to their builder, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The CNOOC started building the massive LNG storage project in Yancheng last June. It is expected to achieve a storage capacity of 2.5 million cubic meters of LNG in the first phase, with four 220,000-cubic-meter LNG storage tanks and six 270,000-cubic-meter LNG storage tanks.

The roof-raising phase is the most demanding part of the entire construction, requiring a high level of safety given the weight and size of the roofs. Raising three roofs at the same time also increases the difficulty.

Once put into operation in late 2023, the first phase of the Yancheng project will be able to handle around 6 million tonnes of LNG annually, equal to about 8.5 billion cubic meters of gaseous natural gas. It can meet the residential demand of Jiangsu Province, which has a population of around 85 million, for 28 months, according to the CNOOC.

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