LNG

China has imported another record total of LNG in 2018 as more winter natural gas supplies were brought to the northern cities such as Beijing to help reduce coal use and improve air quaity, aided by warmer seasonal temperatures that cut heating needs.

Among the final shipments of 2018, carriers were unloading their cargoes on December 31 from nations such as Australia, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Chinese imports had surged in the January-November period by 43.6 percent to 47.52MT and have also reached record levels in December 2018.

According to shipping data and estimates, LNG imports to China through December 22, had risen to more than 6.5MT and were expected to break the 7.5MT mark by year-end.

That would put China’s total of LNG imports in 2018 at around 56MT versus just over 39MT in 2017, second only to Japan’s 83.52MT.

China had imported 5.9MT in November 2018, surpassing the previous monthly record of 5.18MT set in January 2018, according to data from the country's General Administration of Customs.

The imports of LNG had risen by around 46 percent in 2017 from the previous year when shipments had amounted to just over 27MT.

LNG carriers from Australia, the Middle East and Africa are still heading in significant numbers for Chinese import terminals with January shipments to be regasified at its network of 20 import facilities.

In addition to its 19 onshore terminals, China has also deployed the floating storage and regasification unit, the 170,000 cubic metres capacity “Hoegh Esperanza”, at Tianjin port in northeast China to serve Beijing.

Analysts said the Chinese government had largely succeeded in its pledge to ensure abundant natural gas supplies and stable prices this winter as previous large-scale coal use was being replaced as far as possible by natural gas to improve air quality.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission had also unveiled measures to work on expanding the gas pipeline network, improve gas storage and make arrangements to meet peak demand.

The 155,000 cubic metres capacity LNG carrier “GasLog Santiago” was delivering one of the final shipments of 2018 from Australia.

The vessel was unloading its cargo on December 31 at the Ningbo terminal, owned by China National Offshore Oil Corp. in eastern Zheijang province, from the Queensland Curtis plant near Gladstone.

The 152,500 cubic metres capacity vessel “Seri Bakti”, owned by Malaysian shipping line MISC, was unloading an Indonesian cargo on December 31 at the port of Tianjin, east of Beijing.

Among African cargoes, the 141,000 cubic metres capacity “LNG Akwa Ibom” was delivering an Nigerian shipment on December 31 to the Mengtougou terminal operated by Shanghai Gas.