• 30 Aug 2016

Apollonia passes through the Panama Canal's locks on its way to Asia. Photo: Shell

 The first cargo of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) to target the world’s largest energy consumer arrived Monday at the Chinese port of Yantian in Shenzhen near Hong Kong.

The cargo was brought onboard the 161,870-cbm Maran Gas Apollonia, chartered by the Hague-based LNG giant Shell, that was the first LNG tanker to transit the newly expanded Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The Maran Gas Apollonia has had 19 cargoes of LNG load from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from the Sabine Pass export facility since February, but this cargo is the first to reach northeast Asia, world's biggest LNG demand center. 

China, Japan and South Korea are prime target markets for US LNG exporters.

Sabine Pass' first liquefaction train has been in commercial operation since May (with first commissioning cargoes departing in February).

Shell has a long-term contract for 3.5 metric tons per annum and the cargo on the Apollonia was one of its shipments.