China became the world’s largest LNG importer in 2021

Prior to 2021, Japan had been the world’s largest LNG importer for 51 years, according to data from Cedigaz. In 2021, China’s LNG imports averaged 10.5 billion ft³/d, a 1.7 billion ft³/d (19%) increase over 2020 and 0.8 billion ft³/d more than Japan’s LNG imports. LNG imports in Japan were flat y/y, averaging 9.7 billion ft³/d in 2020 and 2021, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance.

Since China began importing LNG in 2006, China’s LNG imports have grown steadily every year, except in 2015. Growth in China’s LNG imports has been supported by the rapid expansion of LNG import capacity, which has reached an estimated 13.9 billion ft³/d in 2021. By the end of 2022, China’s regasification capacity is expected to expand by an additional 2.8 billion ft³/d, for a total of 16.7 billion ft³/d, according to data by S&P Global Platts.

China’s natural gas imports, both by pipeline and as LNG, accounted for nearly half (46%) of China’s total natural gas supply (35.5 billion ft³/d) in 2021, an increase from 15% in 2010. In 2021, natural gas imports by pipeline provided 16% (5.7 billion ft³/d) of total supply, while LNG imports accounted for 30% (10.5 billion ft³/d). In 2021:

• China imported natural gas by pipeline from five countries: Turkmenistan (3.2 billion ft³/d), Russia (1.0 billion ft³/d), Kazakhstan (0.6 billion ft³/d), Uzbekistan (0.5 billion ft³/d), and Myanmar (0.4 billion ft³/d).
• China imported LNG from 25 countries. The six largest suppliers—Australia, the US, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Russia—provided 8.9 billion ft³/d, or 85% of total LNG imports.
• The remaining 15% of LNG was imported from six countries in Africa (0.6 billion ft³/d, or 6% of total LNG imports), three countries in the Middle East (0.4 billion ft³/d, or 4%) and 10 other countries from the rest of the world (0.6 billion ft³/d, or 5%).

Rapid growth in China’s natural gas production and imports has been driven primarily by government policies promoting the switch from coal to natural gas in an effort to reduce air pollution and meet emissions targets. In 2021, China’s domestic production reached 19.3 billion ft³/d, accounting for 54% of the country’s total natural gas supply, while pipeline and LNG imports combined were at 16.2 billion ft³/d (46%). In March 2022, the Chinese government released its 14^th Five-Year Plan (2021 – 2025), which set domestic natural gas production target at 22.3 billion ft³/d by 2025, an increase of 3.0 billion ft³/d compared with 2021.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/08042022/china-became-the-worlds-largest-lng-importer-in-2021/