China's ENN Reports Higher 1H Profit
China’s ENN Energy Holdings said August 23 profit attributable to shareholders of the company increased by 8.1% year on year to yuan 1.78bn ($260mn) during the six-month period (1H2018) that ended June 30, 2018 thanks to higher gas sales volume.
During the period total natural gas sales volume of the group together with its associates and joint ventures reached 11.06bn m3, representing an increase of 20.4% year on year.
During 1H2018, sales of piped gas increased by 31.9% year on year to yuan 14.9bn, thanks to higher sales to commercial and residential customers. “The continuous expansion of customer base provides a concrete support for the growth of natural gas sales business,” the company said.
ENN developed 1.08mn new residential customers, with the aggregate number of piped gas residential customers reached 17.30mn. As of June 30, 2018, the number of household coverage of the its city gas projects in China reached 29.5mn, while the average penetration rate increased from 57.5% at the end of 2017 to 58.6%. During 1H2018, ENN acquired six new projects and 19 new concessions around its existing projects, with an additional population coverage of 1.99mn.
ENN, which is one of the largest LNG traders in China, said it will take three major measures to ensure a stable gas supply during winter season. The company is locking in onshore LNG supply with major LNG suppliers and manufacturers for the coming winter, procuring offshore LNG leveraging on the LNG terminal invested by ENN Group and continuously enhancing gas storage capacity.
Earlier this month, ENN’s Zhoushan terminal in Zhejiang province in eastern China received its first cargo, which came from Qatar. The 3mn mt/yr (4.1bn m3/yr) Zhoushan LNG receiving terminal is the first large-scale privately-owned terminal approved by China's National Energy Administration. The project includes two 160,000 m3 tanks, one unloading dock for 266,000m3 LNG ships, along with other related infrastructure.