Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports into South Korea rose 4 percent in December year-on-year, boosted by colder weather in the midst of the heating season and lower nuclear generation.
The country imported 4.18 million mt of LNG in December as compared to 4.03 million mt in the corresponding month the year before, according to the customs data.
South Korea paid about US$1.79 billion for December imports, as compared to $1.55 billion the year before, the data showed.
The world’s largest LNG exporter, Qatar, remained the dominant source of South Korean imports with 1.13 million mt of the chilled fuel imported from Qatar in December. These volumes dropped 13.4 percent on year.
LNG deliveries from Australia rose 61 percent to 0.93 million mt, while imports from Malaysia dropped 35 percent to 0.42 million mt.
Oman supplied 0.42 million mt of the fuel during the month under review, almost flat on year, as deliveries from the US posted a 0.30 million mt increase on year.
2017 imports rise 12.2 pct
South Korea imported 37.5 million mt of LNG in 2017, a rise of 12.2 percent as compared to 33.4 million mt the year before, the customs data shows.
Chine has reportedly took over South Korea’s position as the world’s second-largest LNG importer. China imported nearly 38 million mt of LNG in 2017. However, the official customs data for LNG imports has still not been published.
Going back to South Korea, most of the 2017 volumes came from Qatar. Qatar supplied 11.55 million mt to South Korea in 2017, down 0.33 million mt as compared to the year before.
On the other side, Australian deliveries rose almost 50 percent to 7 million mt.
Volumes from the US also posted a huge rise year-on-year as Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility in Lousiana ramped up production. The US supplied 1.95 million mt of LNG to South Korea in 2017, the data said.
LNG World News Staff