Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
POSCO Energy kicks off operation of LNG terminal biz
Officials from Gwangyang City, Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority, Mitsui & Co. and POSCO Energy attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the latter's LNG terminal operation at Gwangyang LNG Terminal in South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Courtesy of POSCO Energy
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
POSCO Energy has kicked off operation of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export and import business at Gwangyang LNG Terminal in South Jeolla Province, becoming the country's first private LNG terminal operator.
The energy affiliate of steelmaking giant POSCO said Thursday that it held an opening ceremony at Gwangyang LNG Terminal, two months after the company earned a license for its LNG import and export business from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sept. 10.
The company's ceremony featured officials from Gwangyang City, Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority and Japanese company Mitsui & Co. Last month, POSCO Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese company to improve business efficiency.
“Since we obtained the natural gas importer and exporter license from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sept. 10, POSCO Energy has pushed forward to begin the business,” the company said.
The LNG import and export business refers to an operation in which an LNG terminal operator imports the natural gas, stores it in a custom-bonded LNG tank and supplies the LNG to buyers.
POSCO Energy expects Gwangyang LNG Terminal is capable of meeting the growing LNG demand from neighboring countries including Japan and China.
POSCO Energy launched the LNG terminal project in November 2018 on the occasion of the 100th day of Choi Jeong-woo's chairmanship of POSCO, as he outlined the restructuring plan for the steelmaking group's power generation business.
The company has tried to improve competitiveness in its LNG midstream business, one of the three business categories in the industry. While the upstream LNG business is about developing and extracting the gas and downstream means supply and sales of the refined energy to consumers, midstream business refers to the process of liquefying and transporting the natural gas.
As a first step, POSCO Energy took on the LNG terminal project in Gwangyang in September 2019. As the country's first private LNG terminal, it has equipment for loading and unloading, storage, evaporation and emission of the natural gas.
“By beginning the operation of the LNG import and export business at this customs-bonded zone, we are trying to make this terminal the hub LNG terminal in Northeast Asia,” said Jeong Ki-seop, president and CEO of POSCO Energy.
The LNG Terminal was constructed in 2005 and POSCO Energy currently operates five LNG tanks in total. The total storage capacity of the tanks is 730,000 kiloliters. Adding the sixth tank that can hold around 20,000 kiloliters of LNG will expand the company's LNG import and export business.