China’s natural gas imports climbing

Chinese imports of natural gas, including LNG and piped gas volumes, rose further in December, as the country continued its switch from coal to natural gas as fuel for heating. 

According to the data from the General Administration of Customs, China’s natural gas imports reached 7.89 million tons, 20.5 percent up from an already record volume in November when the statistics showed total imports of 6.55 million tons.

The total natural gas imports for the year climbed to 68.57 million tons, 26.9 percent above the 54.03 million tons recorded in 2016.

Speaking at a news conference following the release of imports statistics, General Administration of Customs’ spokesman Huang Songping, noted that the average import price of natural gas rose 13.9 percent in 2017 compared to the prices last year.

While the report includes pipeline imports as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) import volumes, it was earlier reported that China would overtake South Korea as the world’s second-largest LNG importer.

Chinese LNG imports were expected to reach around 38 million tons in 2017, some 50 percent above the volumes recorded in 2016, with the rising trend expected to continue.

LNG World News Staff