Cost and risk factors of midstream storage and transportation of natural gas industry chain

In addition, Hanas, Hebei Jinjianjia, Changlian Petroleum, Changfeng Energy, Shenghan Energy, Jingneng, GCL-Poly, Baichuan Energy, China Railway Gallen and other enterprises have LNG terminal construction plans, with a total proposed capacity of more than 48 million tons/year.

The influx of a large number of investment entities may cause the price of natural gas to rise in the procurement process. At present, the design and construction level of LNG terminal facilities tends to be mature, and with the rising price of raw materials, the space for operating costs to continue to decline is limited, and new operators are facing more tests.

Transport link

According to the different modes of transportation, the natural gas transportation link is mainly divided into pipe network and vehicle and ship two parts. The pipeline network is divided into import pipeline, long-distance pipeline network, provincial pipe network and municipal pipe network, etc. Transport vehicles and ships are mainly used for the transportation of liquefied natural gas LNG and compressed natural gas CNG.

I. Cost

1. Pipeline transportation

At present, China's main natural gas pipelines and regional pipe networks have realized interconnection, basically forming a "national network". From the perspective of the main operators, mainly manufacturers or importers for the purpose of sales set up pipeline companies to build and operate, and there are few third-party enterprises that simply operate pipeline transportation business. Among them, the main trunk lines such as long-distance pipelines are mainly dominated by the three major oil groups, and the regional and provincial pipe networks are mainly managed and guided by the local SASAC and other relevant departments.

The construction of natural gas pipeline network has huge investment and high entry conditions, which requires enterprises to have strong capital strength and anti-risk ability. As of December 31, 2016, the domestic operating mileage of more than 1,000 kilometers of pipeline companies, the total assets between 2.5 billion to more than 9 billion.

2. Vehicles and boats

Tankers and transport ships are mainly used for the transportation of natural gas such as LNG and CNG, which can be loaded and unloaded and moved. The inland LNG transport mode is mainly tanker transport, overseas LNG is transported to the port receiving station by ship, processed and gasification through the pipeline to the consumer end, or directly transported by the tanker. According to Shenwan Hongyuan research forecast, natural gas tanker and ship transport market is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan.

Most LNG tanker owners are self-established logistics companies by gas sellers, and there are also some third-party logistics service companies and individual-run tanker trucks in the market. At present, the LNG tankers used in China mainly include semi-trailer transport tankers and container tankers.

There are two main types of LNG carriers, including membrane cargo holds and spherical cargo holds, of which membrane cargo holds are dominant. The cost of transport vessels is high, taking 160,000-170,000 cubic meters of LNG carriers as an example, the cost of more than 200 million US dollars, and the related operation and maintenance costs are also high.

According to the research report of Drewry, a British maritime research consulting company, from January to September 2017, the average freight rate of global LNG carriers was 33,000 US dollars/day, and the transportation price also fluctuated with market supply and demand.

China's LNG imports used to rely on international ship capacity, but recently in addition to the domestic self-established LNG fleet has begun to take shape, domestic enterprises through the participation of international ship enterprises or self-built vessels to increase participation in the global LNG carrier business, is expected to gradually reduce the cost of imported natural gas transportation.

China's inland LNG water transport market has just started, and only two companies, CNOOC Energy and Zhejiang Huaxiang Shipping Co., LTD., have obtained the operating qualifications of LNG carriers in coastal and inland waters. There are also some enterprises that are optimistic about the inland water transport market are also actively layout, and it is expected that the small and medium-sized LNG carrier market will also usher in an investment boom.

2. Risk factors

The LNG logistics market has yet to mature. From the perspective of the industry, China's LNG logistics industry as a whole is in the initial stage, the market competition pattern needs to be optimized, the equipment manufacturing capacity of vehicles and ships needs to be cultivated, the management and operation experience of operating enterprises needs to be improved, and there is still a certain gap from large-scale professional development. Maritime transport ship independent manufacturing is rising, inland waterway transport is relatively blank, land vehicle transport is also carrying out transport mode innovation, equipment and business mode are facing upgrading. In addition, LNG transportation belongs to dangerous goods logistics, and safety risk prevention mechanisms need to be established.