China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the country's leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, has expanded its reach in the LNG supply chain by purchasing stakes in five small-sized LNG shipping firms.

The acquisitions will boost CNOOC's presence in the LNG transportation market and enable the company to better manage imports of LNG, Qian Li, an analyst with industry consultancy ICIS C1, told Interfax on Tuesday.

CNOOC announced on Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary, CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Ltd., purchased 30 percent stakes in Yuepeng LNG Transport Co. Ltd. and Yuegang LNG Shipping Co. Ltd.

Yuepeng and Yuegang are the respective operators of the Dapeng Sun and Dapeng Moon, two LNG carriers that ship output from Australia's North West Shelf (NWS) Project to CNOOC's Dapeng terminal in Guangdong Province. The two companies were founded in 2004 by a consortium comprised of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., China Merchants Group Co., Guangdong Yudean Group Co. Ltd., Shenzhen Marine Co., North West Shelf Australia LNG Pty. Ltd., and Energy Transportation Group.

CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Ltd. also bought a 10 percent interest in Yueyang LNG Shipping Co. Ltd., and 15 percent stakes in Minrong LNG Shipping Co. Ltd. and Minlu LNG Shipping Co. Ltd. from China LNG Shipping (Holdings) Ltd. The three companies also transport LNG from the NWS Project to CNOOC terminals in Dapeng and Fujian Province via the Dapeng Star, the Min Rong and Min Lu vessels.

CNOOC imported 10.83 million tons of LNG last year, accounting for more than 90 percent of the national total, the announcement said, citing remarks made by Deputy General Manager Lü Bo at the signing ceremony. The deal will advance CNOOC's prospects in the LNG industry, Lü said.

The five LNG carriers were built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corp. and the only Chinese company capable of building such vessels.

China has eight LNG receiving terminals planned or under construction in addition to the five currently operational to handle future import growth. Demand for LNG carriers to service these terminals is growing, with China expected to require more than 65 carriers by 2015, according to the China Shipbuilding Economic Research Center (CSERC).

China's LNG imports in May grew at the slowest annual rate so far in 2012, rising 17.76 percent from a year earlier to 1.14 million tons, according to statistics released last week by the General Administration of Customs.