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The first LNG storage tank gets its roof at the LNG storage and peak-shaving project on Yangguang Island on Sept 9. [Photo/WeChat account: rudongfb]

The installation of the roof of the first liquefied natural gas or LNG storage tank in an LNG storage and peak-shaving project in East China's Jiangsu province was completed on Sept 9.

Peak shaving is when LNG is stored at a plant so that in times of peak demand it can tap into the gas in order to meet demand spikes.

The project – located on Yangguang Island, a man-made island off Yangkou Port in Rudong county, in Jiangsu province – includes three 200,000-cubic-meter LNG storage tanks in its first phase, which will cost 5.2 billion yuan ($741.49 million).

The tank got its roof following a gas jacking operation – one of the most critical processes in the construction of LNG storage tanks.

This uses a fan system to continuously inflate and pressurize the sealed tank. With the help of buoyancy and lifting force, the dome roof of the structure is air-lifted from the ground to the top. The jacking height of the first LNG storage tank was 42 meters.

According to officials, the successful completion of the first tank's jacking operation laid a solid foundation for the construction of the other two tanks in the first phase.

The three LNG tanks are scheduled for hydrostatic testing in July 2023.

With a planned investment of 2.1 billion yuan, the second phase of the LNG storage and peak-shaving project will build a 200,000-cu-m LNG storage tank and a special terminal which can dock tankers that carry 80,000 cu m to 266,000 cu m of LNG.

Once the complex starts operations, it will provide LNG storage, transportation and gas services and become an important source of future natural gas supplies in Jiangsu, according to officials.