Japanese LNG imports restructure as deliveries fall while costs are up 50 percent and Russian deliveries rise
Japanese liquefied natural gas imports tumbled 15.8 percent last month and cargoes from Russia surpassed those from the Middle East while shipments from US export plants dropped.
Japanese LNG imports in January 2022 amounted to 6.78 million tonnes, just under 100 cargoes, compared with 8.06MT, or 118 shipments, in January 2021, according to the preliminary trade figures from Japan's Ministry of Finance.
Imports of LNG to Japan in December had declined by 9 percent to 7.03MT compared with 7.72MT in December 2020.
The cargoes received in January cost 556.63 billion yen ($4.81Bln), which was over 50 percent more than in January 2021 when the costs were 365.84Bln ($3.16Bln).
The restructuring of Japan’s LNG deliveries came after the nation formally ceded the No. 1 LNG import spot to China.
Shipments to Chinese terminals in 2021 had amounted to 78.93MT which was 18.3 percent more than in 2020.
Japan’s Finance Ministry confirmed annual cargo deliveries to Japan as 74.31MT, down 0.2 percent on 2020 and 4.62MT less that the Chinese total for 2021.
Shipments of LNG to Japan in January 2022 from Asian countries dropped by 6.9 percent year-on-year to 1.59MT.
Mideast supply down
Middle East cargo deliveries from nations like Qatar crashed by 55.6 percent versus January 2021 to 634,000 tonnes. That's as contracts ended or were re-arranged.
LNG imports from the US dropped by 31.7 percent in January to 651,000 tonnes while deliveries from Russia during the month climbed by over 41 percent to 780,000 tonnes.
The balance of imports in January 2022 came from Australia, African nations and the spot market.
That segment of the imports came mainly from Australia and amounted to 3.12MT, which was lower than the January 2021 total of 3.96MT.
The December data showed that the Japanese imports of thermal coal fell by less than LNG shipments.
Thermal coal imports in January dropped 1.3 percent year-on-year to 10.54 million tonnes.
The almost parity levels between thermal coal imports and LNG shipments disappeared in 2021 with thermal coal deliveries jumping to 112.92MT, an increase of 7.7 percent.
Nuclear power generation in Japan is still much reduced with only five plants with nine reactors from a total of 16 plants with 50-plus reactors having gained the agreement of local authorities to resume operations.
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