LNG

Japan has formally retaken from China its position as the World No. 1 LNG importer with more volumes coming from Australia, Russia and its Asian neighbours even as overall deliveries to Japanese terminals fell in 2022 and slumped in December.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports dropped for the seventh month out of the past eight as the nation received fewer cargoes from traditional suppliers in the Middle East and Asia, though Australian deliveries were higher.

Shipments of LNG to Japan fell 6.3 percent in June to 5.20 million tonnes compared with 5.54MT in June 2018, according to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance.

Cargo deliveries to Japan had dropped 13.1 percent in May to 5.56MT versus 6.40MT in May 2018.

The cost of the June 2019 cargoes came to 274.17Bln yen ($2.54Bln), 11.7 percent less than a year ago when the cargoes cost 310.66Bln yen (2.88Bln).

For balance of payments purposes, Japan has been trying for several years to bring LNG import costs under control.

Imports of the fuel had edged 0.3 percent higher in April 2019 to 5.62MT from 5.60MT in April 2018 after dropping for the previous five straight months.

The April 2019 rise in LNG deliveries to Japan had been the first since October 2018 when 6.53MT was received, a 6.5 rise on the previous October.

Even during the peak winter months from November 2018 through February 2019, imports dropped as the Japanese followed fuel-saving measures and the government encouraged a drop in costly LNG imports, with coal-fired power often filling the gap.

Imports of thermal coal, a competitor to LNG, also declined by 1.7 percent in June to 8.07MT.

Seven of Japan's nuclear power plants, which numbered 54 on line before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, were operating in June and July.

The Ministry’s data for June showed a year-on-year plunge in imports from the Middle East for a third successive month.

The June 2019 shipments from countries like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman totaled 951,000 tonnes in June, down 33.2 percent from June 2018, though higher than the 793,000 tonnes received in May 2019.

The last time monthly shipments from the Middle East dropped under the 1MT level on a regular basis was in 2005.

Asian LNG cargo deliveries fell 8.1 percent to 1.33MT from nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Brunei.

The still small US volumes rose to 273,000 tonnes in June from 130,000 tonnes in May 2019 and 180,000 tonnes in June 2018.

Monthly Russian shipments from the Sakhalin Island plant in the Far East amounted to 404,000 tonnes, a decline of 22.6 percent versus the same month in 2018.

The balance of imports came from Australia, African nations and the spot market. They amounted to 2.24MT in June, more than the 1.95MT delivered in June 2018, though less than the 2.73MT imported in May 2019.

Japanese LNG imports had declined by 0.9 percent in 2018. The 2018 imports amounted to 82.85MT versus 83.63MT received in 2017.

Japan’s 2018 import bill was 20.8 percent higher than in 2017 at 4,730Bln yen ($43.14Bln). The Japanese had paid 19.3 percent more in 2017 compared with the previous year with an LNG bill of 3,915Bln yen ($35.58Bln).