Chinese LNG imports rise year-on-year in June though fall short of previous month’s cargo deliveries
Chinese liquefied natural gas imports increased in June by almost 24 percent as energy demand recovered because of lower prices and more regasification capacity coming on line, though LNG deliveries were less than in the previous month.
LNG imports by China drop by over 28 percent on economic slowdown and higher spot cargo market prices
Imports of liquefied natural gas by China dropped by over 28 percent in June 2022 compared with the same month of 2021 as the economy slowed and spot LNG cargo prices stayed at record high levels on the global market
Chinese LNG imports rise over 18 percent in 2021 to be World No. 1 with around 5MT lead over Japan
Chinese liquefied natural gas imports reached almost 79 million tonnes in 2021, increasing by more than 18 percent and overtaking Japan to become the World No. 1 importer of the fuel.
QatarEnergy signs yet another Chinese supply agreement and this time with China’s S&T International
QatarEnergy is continuing to build the company's Chinese sales portfolio with yet another Sale and Purchase Agreement, this time with China’s S&T International Natural Gas Trading Co. for the supply of 1 million tonnes per annum over a 15-year period starting in late 2022.
“This agreement marks further expansion of our customer base in the People’s Republic of China, which can count on Qatar as a trusted and reliable energy partner,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the President and Chief Executive of QatarEnergy.
“We are pleased to welcome S&T into our family of long-term LNG customers and we are excited to work with them to help fulfil their long-term LNG requirements,” added Al-Kaabi.
QatarEnergy said the LNG deliveries under the SPA would allow S&T to receive its volumes from Qatar’s fleet of vessels, primarily at the Tangshan import terminal located in Caofeidian Port in northeast Hebei Province.
The Chinese volumes would be produced at the Qatar Liquified Gas Company (II) project at Ras Laffan.
QatarEnergy had disclosed on December 7 that it had signed an SPA with Guangdong Energy Group based in southern China for the supply of 1 MTPA of LNG over a 10-year period starting in 2024.
Increasing volumes
With the conclusion of the S&T deal and the Guangdong Energy agreement, China will be supplied with around 17.5 MPTA of LNG from Qatar under long-term SPAs.
Deliveries under the Guangdong Energy SPA would be made to the Dapeng and Zhuhai receiving terminals on the Pearl River Delta.
Al-Saadi said that China was considered a major customer for the State of Qatar and a strategic partner in the energy sector.
Other supply deals with China have been previously arranged, though a landmark accord was reached in September 2021 when QatarEnergy signed an SPA with China National Offshore Oil Corp. for the supply 3.5 MTPA over a 15-year period starting in January 2022.
That SPA was signed during a virtual ceremony involving Al-Kaabi and Wang Dongjin, the Chairman of CNOOC.
QatarEnergy signed a previous deal in July 2021 in the form of 10-year SPA with Shell for the supply of 1 MTPA of LNG to China.
China’s LNG and pipeline gas imports jump versus last year when Covid-19 was cited for cancellations
Chinese natural gas imports, including LNG shipments and pipeline gas, jumped last month but the figure was so high mainly because in the year-ago period China was at the height of its Covid-19 economic slowdown and deliveries were cancelled.
China is scene of LNG supply battle with Australia and Qatar losing some LNG share to US and Russia
China may be trailing Japan in LNG imports but it remained the world’s largest natural gas importer by far when pipeline volumes are counted, well ahead of the world No. 2 gas importer Germany and No. 3 Japan as LNG suppliers also intensified their battle for Chinese LNG market share.
China confirms 2020 record for LNG imports even at higher spot cargo prices after energy market recovery
China confirmed that 2020 liquefied natural gas imports hit a record as energy needs continued to grew even after the slowdown in the first half caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
China LNG imports fall short again of Japanese shipments as Tokyo misses nuclear re-start targets
China's liquefied natural gas imports increased by 25 percent in October, though were still short of the monthly shipments received by the world’s No. 1 LNG importer Japan as the Japanese are failing to reach nuclear re-start targets as a replacement power generation fuel.
Commodities firm BHP awards first LNG-powered bulk carrier tender to Eastern Pacific Shipping
BHP, the Anglo-Australian global commodities company, has awarded the world’s first LNG-fuelled bulk carrier tender to a Singapore-based shipping line with the aim of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 30 percent per voyage while delivering iron ore from Western Australia to China.
First US LNG shipment in over a year heads for China terminal from Gulf Coast export plant
The first US LNG cargo for more than a year is heading for the Chinese port of Tianjin, east of Beijing, from the Cameron export plant in Louisiana operated by Sempra Energy.
