Korea Gas Corp., the world's biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas, will spend 2.74 trillion won...
Korea Gas Corp., the world's biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas, will spend 2.74 trillion won ($2.64 billion) as part of a plan to almost triple its capacity to store the fuel by 2020.
The state-run utility will build a fourth gas storage base in Gangwon Province in the country's east, including 14 storage tanks, port facilities and a pipeline by 2019, the Seongnam- based company said in an e-mailed statement today.
South Korean gas demand may rise 3.5 percent annually to 40.35 million metric tons by 2020 from 24.84 million tons in 2006, government estimates show, as the country increases the number of power stations that burn the fuel. Asia's fourth- largest economy imports all of its oil and gas requirements.
The gas supplier plans to build a fifth storage base later to expand its total capacity to 14.3 million kiloliters, or 6.5 million metric tons, by 2020 from 5.2 million kiloliters now, Korea Gas said in the statement.
LNG is gas chilled to liquid form, reducing it to one-six- hundredth of its original volume for transportation by tankers to destinations not connected by pipeline. On arrival, it is turned back into gas for delivery to users such as power plants, factories and households.
Korea Gas lost 600 won, or 0.8 percent, to 76,400 won at 1:26 p.m. in Seoul trading, compared with the 0.8 percent drop in the benchmark Kospi index.
