The company logo of China's Sinopec Corp is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, March 26, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

China Petrochemical Corporation, or Sinopec Group, the country's largest oil refiner, said its liquefied natural gas project in Yantai, Shandong province, started construction on Thursday, which will further ensure gas supplies in the northern and eastern regions of the country.

The first phase of the LNG project's receiving capacity is expected to reach 6.5 million tons per year after it is put into operation in October 2023, and it will play a key role in local energy structure optimization and sustainable economic development, said the company.

The first phase includes an LNG tanker berth, four LNG storage tanks and supporting gasification transport facilities. It is expected to transmit 34 million cubic meters of gas daily after construction, with an LNG storage capacity of 550 million cubic meters.

The project will also further facilitate the country's ambitions of peaking emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, it added.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn