The 66,000-tonne cargo was imported on the LNG carrier Corcovado and was offloaded at the start of this week at an LNG terminal operated by PetroChina in Tangshan in northern China.

The gas will be distributed to users in Beijing and cities in neighbouring Hebei province via an existing pipeline as gas demand picks up during the winter season.

The cargo is the first of 10, totalling about 600,000 tonnes, that BGG is contracted to buy from Engie under an agreement signed in September.