OREANDA-NEWS. November 22, 2013. The China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), parent of CNOOC Ltd, will raise natural gas supplies by 22 percent to 12.8 billion cubic metres over the winter peak demand period to address a looming gas crunch in the world's top energy consumer, the official Xinhua news agency said.

CNOOC received last month its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar at its new 3.5 million tonne-per-year terminal at Zhuhai in the southern province of Guangdong.

The Zhuhai terminal, CNOOC's fifth, brings its total annual receiving capacity to 21.3 million tonnes.

The company is also expected to start operation of China's first floating LNG import terminal in the northern port of Tianjin next month. The first phase of the Tianjin LNG project, costing 3.3 billion yuan (USD539 million), is designed to have an annual receiving capacity of 2.2 million tonnes or 3.0 billion cubic metres (bcm).

Beijing has been asking energy companies to boost gas supplies by maximising production at domestic fields, raising gas imports and prioritising supplies to public transportation and residential users over the winter period.