Sinopec employees charge a vehicle with hydrogen in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For China Daily]

China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, has finished construction on the second phase of its Shandong LNG terminal on Tuesday, two months ahead of the winter heating season which starts in mid-October.

The annual handling capacity of Shandong LNG terminal has reached seven million tons, equivalent of 9.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas, the company said.

Gas storage capacity has also been lifted to 594 million cubic meters, a major measure of Sinopec's progress in this regard.

The tanks, each with a capacity of 160,000 cubic meters, were ready for use this month after construction began in November of 2018, it said.

It will also help step up the company's gas storage peak-regulating capacity to ensure the heating season supply.

The state oil and gas major also said it is aiming to double the Qingdao terminal's capacity to 14 million tons annually by end of 2023, making it the largest in the country by then.