LNG

July 19 (LNGJ) - Chinese liquefied natural gas imports declined in June, though the number of cargoes received in the first half of 2024 showed an increase of almost 14 percent. China imported 5.62 million tonnes of LNG in June, or 83 cargoes, a decrease of almost 5.6 percent on the 5.96MT, or 88 cargoes, received in June 2023, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.  

   China’s network of 25 regasification terminals had imported 6.57MT of LNG in May 2024, an increase of 2.5 percent from the 6.41MT received in May 2023. During the period from January to June 2024, China received 38.05MT of cargo deliveries, an increase of around 13.8 percent on the 33.50MT of shipments delivered in the same six months of last year.

China's natural gas imports as LNG cargoes and pipeline increased by more than 14 percent in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period last year, though slowed right down during the month of June.

LNG and pipeline gas imported volumes totalled 64.65 million tonnes in the January-to-June period, which was a 14.3 percent year-over-year rise from the 56.63MT logged in the same period of 2023.

Total natural gas imports for the month of June increased by only 0.3 percent to 10.42MT tonnes compared 10.39MT in June 2023.

The natural gas market in the Northern Hemisphere summer season has been marked by lower prices and higher storage levels.

Main suppliers

China’s main LNG suppliers in 2024 have been Australia, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Yamal plant in Arctic Russia and to a lesser extent the US.

US data shows that China has dropped to the ninth preferred destination for US LNG deliveries as the focus has turned to Europe.

China's natural gas imports by pipelines as well as LNG had increased for May and during the first five months of 2024 along with domestic natural gas production.

A total of 54.28MT of natural gas was imported in the first five months of 2024, up 17.4 percent versus the previous year.

Imports of LNG to the Chinese network of 25 regasification terminals had increased in 2023 and the nation regained the No. 1 spot as the largest LNG importer ahead of Japan.

Japan’s 2023 calendar year LNG imports dropped by 8.1 percent in 2023 to 66.15MT compared with China’s overall imports of 71.35MT.

Russian pipelines

China receives varying volumes of pipeline gas through links from the former Soviet Central Asian republics as well as from Russia as part of Gazprom's “Power of Siberia” project.

The “Power of Siberia” pipeline runs for 3,000km (1,865 miles) through Siberia and into northeast China and a “Power of Siberia II” pipeline is being planned to deliver gas to China via Mongolia.

Additional pipelines inside China carry the gas for a further 2,110km through eight Chinese provinces in the north to Shanghai in eastern China.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports increased again in May even at higher prices while thermal coal deliveries dropped and nuclear plant re-starts plans continued to advance.

China's natural gas imports by pipelines as well as LNG increased for May and during the first five months of 2024 along with domestic natural gas production.

A total of 54.28 million tonnes of natural gas was imported in the first five months of 2024, up 17.4 percent versus the previous year, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in China.

Chinese energy majors also produced 103.3 billion cubic metres of natural gas in the January-to-May period, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

In May alone, the natural gas output expanded 6.3 percent year-over-year to 20.3 Bcm.

LNG and crude

China's LNG imports increased slightly in May, according to other data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs.

China imported 6.57 million tonnes of LNG last month, an increase of 2.5 percent from the 6.41MT received in May 2023.

Imports of LNG to the Chinese network of 25 regasification terminals in April 2024 had soared by 31.5 percent to 6.22MT compared with 4.77MT in April 2023.

In the first five months of 2024, China's total LNG imports reached 32.42MT, up about 17.7 percent compared with the 27.54MT received in January-to-May 2023.

The Chinese NBS data additionally showed that China's crude oil production in May rose by 0.6 percent from a year earlier to 18.15 million tons, or about 4.27 million barrels per day.

From January to May, output grew 1.8 percent on the year to 89.1MT, or 4.28 million bpd.

The NBS data added that China’s oil refinery output slipped by 1.8 percent from the previous year because of maintenance turnarounds and falling profit margins

Refiners undertook planned maintenance overhauls and processing margins were pressured by rising crude costs.

The major refiners such as Sinopec and PetroChina processed 60.52MT of crude oil in May, the equivalent to 14.25 million bpd.

Throughput

Refinery throughput for January to May was up just 0.3 percent from a year earlier at 301.77 MT, or 14.49 million bpd, the data showed.

This was down from 14.3 million bpd in April and 14.6 million bpd in May 2023.

The data showed that refining numbers were lower than a year earlier, reflecting higher crude costs and lagging domestic fuel prices, despite a brief spike in fuel demand during a Chinese holiday period in the first week of May for travel by car and the use of gasoline

Jet fuel use from refining was also lower with the number of domestic flights declining by 1.79 percent year-over-year in May to 778,210 flights but were still up 8.26 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

International flights out of China roughly doubled from May 2023 to 58,878, though they remained 28.74 percent lower than in the pre-Covid 19 period of May 2019.

China National Offshore Oil Corp., the Chinese energy major and with international and domestic LNG interests, has claimed a “major exploration breakthrough” with a natural gas play in ultra-deep waters of the South China Sea.

The Lingshui 36-1 gas field is located in the western South China Sea with an average water depth of around 1,500 metres.

The main gas-bearing play is the Ledong formation with an average burial depth of 210 metres.

CNOOC said the field has been tested to produce over 10 million cubic metres per day of open flow natural gas.

“The exploration in ultra-deep water ultra-shallow gas plays in the South China Sea is faced with world-class engineering and technical challenges,” the company explained.

Success

CNOOC Chief Executive and President Zhou Xinhuai said the successful testing of Lingshui 36-1 was a breakthrough for the exploration in such plays.

“The company will continue to tackle the challenges on the exploration and development of the resources in such plays, to expedite the utilization of natural gas in deep waters,” he added.

“The successful testing of Lingshui 36-1 further expands the resource base for the development of a trillion-cubic-metres gas region in the South China Sea,” stated Zhou.

CNOOC said in May 2024 that production started at its largest natural gas field in the central Bohai Sea offshore China.

CNOOC said start-up was at the Bozhong 19-6 Gas Field in Block 5 .

The Bozhong 19-6 natural gas and condensate field phase I development project is the first 100 Bcm field in Bohai Bay to be put into production.

CNOOC said the field would provide the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Bohai Rim regions with “a more stable and reliable” supply of clean energy.

The company is also using the development to promote the green and low-carbon aims of China.

The main production facilities include a wellhead platform with 10 development wells planned to be commissioned and full production reached by 2026.

CNOOC holds 100 percent interest in the Bozhong 19-6 project and acts as the operator. 

ADNOC Gas, the energy company in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, plans to invest $13 billion in domestic and international opportunities in the next five years and aims to more than double its LNG production capacity by 2028.

The Australian Government said the nation’s LNG export revenues are expected to decline from A$72 billion (US$47Bln) in the current fiscal year to just under A$45Bln by 2028-2029 as volumes flow in a tight market, though prices will ease in real terms towards the end of the decade.

Chinese liquefied natural gas imports for the two-month January-February 2024 period soared by more than 23 percent from a year earlier as prices declined and demand grew during a time that encompassed the Lunar New Year holidays in China.

European liquefied natural gas prices dropped as supplies were ample for the remainder of the winter season while Asian spot cargo prices edged higher even as LNG deliveries to China hit seasonal lows ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday shutdown.

Dec 20 (LNGJ) - Japan’s November LNG imports declined almost 4 percent to 5.33 million tonnes, or 79 cargoes, compared with 5.55MT, or 82 cargoes, in November 2022, the Finance Ministry said in its provisional trade statistic. Most of the deliveries came from Australia or the spot market and these amounted to 3.03 million tonnes.

   Imports from the US were down more than 50 percent year-on-year to 191,000 tonnes. Deliveries from the Middle East were also lower by more than half at 481,000 tonnes. LNG shipments from Asian export plants to Japanese terminals increased by 5 percent to 1.63MT while deliveries from Russia amounted to 446,000 tonnes, down by 14.4 percent from November 2022. Thermal coal imports fell 2.4 percent to 8.31MT.