LNG

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.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports jumped for a third month in July with higher volumes arriving from all regions apart from the Middle East at prices over 40 percent higher than a year ago, while thermal coal shipments for power use also jumped as the nation hosted the Olympic Games.

The July 2021 LNG shipments amounted to 6.18MT, or around 90 cargoes, which was 2.5 percent higher than the 6.03MT received in July 2020, according to the trade figures from Japan's Ministry of Finance.

The June deliveries had amounted to 5.70MT, up 8.5 percent from the 5.26MT received in June 2020.

Japan’s shipments in July 2021 cost 343.62 billion yen ($3.21Bln), a rise of 42 percent on the 242.14Bln ($2.20Bln) spent in July 2020 for slightly fewer cargoes.

LNG competes mainly with thermal coal for power generation in Japan.

Japan’s thermal coal imports in July 2021 came to 9.81MT, which was 10.90 higher than the level of shipments a year ago and on June’s imports of 7.49MT of thermal coal.

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.

Just nine of these reactors are currently on line at six plants.

LNG cargo deliveries to Japan during July 2021 from nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Brunei rose by 24.6 percent to 1.44MT compared with July 2020.

Middle East shipments from countries like Qatar and Oman dropped 8.8 percent year-on-year to 886,000 tonnes.

Shipments from Russia last month almost doubled to 761,000 tonnes. US cargo deliveries to Japan also jumped year-on-year but at a more modest 31 percent to 611,000 tonnes.

The balance of imports in July 2021 came from Australia, African nations and the spot market.

That segment of the imports was higher than the previous month at 2.48MT compared with 2.25MT in June 2021.

Annual shipments of LNG to the Japanese import network of 37 facilities came to 74.46MT in 2020, down 3.7 percent compared with the 77.32MT received in 2019.

Imports by the world’s largest buyer of LNG have continued to drop in recent years. The 2019 total of 77.32MT was 6.7 percent lower than the 82.85MT logged in 2018. 

Mitsui Osk Lines, the Japanese shipping company with an operating fleet of almost 100 liquefied natural gas carriers, said it planned to order the first two LNG-powered ferries for Japan from Mitsubishi Shipbuilding.

Freeport LNG, the project advancing towards first output by the end of 2019 on Quintana Island in Texas, has received approval from the US Department of Energy for the export of Train 4 volumes to Non-Free Trade Agreement countries, opening the way for marketing to start.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports edged higher by 0.3 percent in April after previously dropping for five straight months as LNG shipments from the Middle East plunged to a 14-year seasonal low and the nation’s energy demand slowed on the nuclear and thermal coal fronts.

Japan received 5.62 million tonnes of LNG in April compared with 5.60MT in the same month of 2018, according to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance.

Imports of thermal coal, a competitor to LNG, also declined by 2.5 percent to 8.5MT.

Nine of Japan's nuclear power plants, which numbered 54 on line before the Fukushima disaster in 2011, had re-started in April, though only seven are now operating.

LNG Cargoes delivered to Japan in March 2019 had amounted to 7.29MT compared with 7.93MT in March 2018, a fall of 8.1 percent.

The April 2019 rise in LNG deliveries to Japan was 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 January 2019, imports dropped as the Japanese followed fuel-saving measures and the government encouraged a drop in costly LNG imports.

The cost of the April 2019 cargoes came to 313.5 billion yen ($2.83Bln), a rise of 5.8 percent from the 296.2Bln yen ($2.68Bln) the cargoes cost in the same month a year ago.

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

The Ministry’s data for April showed a plunge in imports from the Middle East region, to their lowest level since April 2005.

The April 2019 shipments from countries like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman totaled 945,000 tonnes versus 1.23MT in April 2018, a drop of 23.5 percent, suggesting plant maintenance work in the region at a time when there was also a reported outage of the Qatar-UAE Dolphin Energy natural gas pipeline.

The last time monthly shipments from the Middle East dropped under the 1MT level was in 2005 when they regularly totaled between 950,000 to 970,000 tonnes in the second quarter of the year.

Asian LNG shipments cargo deliveries increased by 12.4 percent to 1.47MT from nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Brunei.

US deliveries amounted to 138,000 tonnes, the equivalent of two large cargoes while one delivery was received in the same month a year ago.

Monthly Russian shipments from the Sakhalin Island plant in the Far East amounted to 404,000 tonnes, a fall of 13.9 percent versus 2018.

The balance of imports from Australia, African nations and the spot market amounted to 2.66MT, a 32 percent rise compared with the 2.02MT received in April 2018.

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).

Japanese spot liquefied natural gas cargoes were contracted for Japan last month at a cost of $3.90 per million British thermal units less than in April 2018 and down $1.20 per MMBtu versus March 2019.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports have gone into reverse as shipments dropped for a fifth straight month amid competition from thermal coal and nuclear and with Australian and spot cargoes replacing deliveries from the Middle East and Asia.

Cargoes delivered to Japan in March 2019 amounted to 7.29 million tonnes compared with 7.93MT in February 2018, a fall of 8.1 percent versus March 2018.

Japan’s February deliveries had plunged by 11.4 percent and the last time Japanese imports rose was in 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 January 2019, imports dropped

Nine of Japan's nuclear power plants, which numbered 54 on line before the Fukushima disaster in 2011, have re-started to reduce LNG needs.

Thermal coal imports were preferred over LNG in March as 9.58MT was imported, an increase on February, though down 3 percent on March 2018.

The cost of the March 2019 cargoes came to 445.29 billion yen ($3.97Bln), a rise of 7.5 percent from the 414.35Bln yen ($3.70Bln) the cargoes cost in the same month a year ago.

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

The Ministry of Finance data for March showed that Asian LNG shipments from nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Brunei dropped 20.7 percent year-on-year to 1.73MT.

Imports from the Middle East region fell 26.7 percent versus 2018, with shipments from countries like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman totalling 1.32MT in March.

US shipments amounted to 198,000 tonnes, down on the 335,000 tonnes received in February. 

Monthly Russian shipments from the Sakhalin Island plant in the Far East dropped 19.8 percent in March to 524,000 tonnes.

The balance of imports from Australia, African nations and the spot market amounted to 3.51MT, a jump of 24 percent compared with the 2.83MT received in February 2019. The volume of cargoes was also up 11.6 percent year-on-year versus the 3.14MT logged in March 2018.

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 with an LNG bill of 3,915Bln yen ($35.58Bln).

Japanese spot liquefied natural gas cargoes arrived in Japan last month at a cost of $1.70 per million British thermal units less than the previous month and down $3.10 per MMBtu versus March 2018.

The delivered cargoes in March 2019 had cost an average of $7.10 per MMBtu versus $8.30 per MMBtu in February 2019 and $10.20 per MMBtu in March 2018.

Shipments contracted in March 2019 had an average price of $6.40 per MMBtu compared with $7.50 per MMBtu in February 2019 and $8.80 per MMBtu in March 2018, a year-on-year drop of $2.40 per MMBtu.

The North Sea Brent crude oil price that influences Japanese long-term contract prices also impacts spot LNG and other energy markets and the price was at around $65 per barrel or more in the first quarter of 2019.

The spot cargo numbers come from the commerce division of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and are only issued if a minimum number of two trades are recorded.

The Ministry emphasizes that “spot LNG” refers to fuel traded on a cargo-to-cargo basis and does not mean shipments under contracts on a short-term, medium-term or long-term basis.

The statistical accounting of the spot prices started in March 2014.

Overall Japanese LNG imports dropped 11.4 percent in February 2019 with only Middle East volumes holding up as more coal-fired power use and nuclear generation offset the need for gas-fired power as the cost of LNG shipments also increased.

Cargoes delivered to Japan in February 2019 amounted to 7.35 million tonnes compared with 8.29MT in February 2018.

The cost of the February 2019 cargoes came to 465.54 billion yen ($4.18Bln), a rise of 8.6 percent from the 428.72Bln yen ($3.85Bln) the cargoes cost in the same month a year ago.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports plunged 11.4 percent with only Middle East volumes holding up as more coal-fired power use and nuclear generation offset the need for gas-fired power as the cost of LNG shipments also increased.

Spot liquefied natural gas cargoes arrived in Japan last month costing an average of $8.30 per million British thermal units, a drop of $2.20 per MMBtu compared with the previous month.