Case studies

Improving Hong Kong’s Air Quality and Supporting its Long-term Decarbonisation Target through the Hong Kong Offshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal Project

The Hong Kong Offshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal Project commenced operation in July 2023. The project is enhancing Hong Kong’s fuel supply stability by adding new supply sources for natural gas, while also reducing power generation emissions and facilitating the city’s energy transition to carbon neutrality by 2050.

The project gives Hong Kong access to more diverse sources of competitively priced LNG in the global market, enhancing the city’s gas supply security. 

The LNG terminal, located in the southwestern waters of Hong Kong, uses Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) technology to regasify LNG before the natural gas is delivered to power stations through undersea pipelines.

The terminal is connected to the world’s largest FSRU vessel, the Bauhinia Spirit. It has an LNG storage capacity of 263,000 cubic metres, sufficient to meet the electricity needs of 1.5 million three-member households for two months based on an average usage of 275 units of electricity a month.

Natural gas is a relatively clean fossil fuel and an important bridge transition fuel for meeting the HKSAR Government’s long-term decarbonisation targets as outlined in its Climate Action Plan 2050. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted by natural gas is only around half of that given off by coal, so this initiative is helping reduce emissions from power generation by increasing the percentage of natural gas used for power generation and reducing carbon intensity in the city.

The Hong Kong Offshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal.

Illustration of the operation of the Hong Kong Offshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal.