LNG import – CRI Report

Research Report on China’s LNG (liquefied natural gas) Import, 2021-2025

admin — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 03:01:03 +0000

China’s LNG Import

In 2020, China’s natural gas production reached 192.5 billion cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%, of which coal-to-gas production was 4 billion cubic meters; coal-bed methane production 6.5 billion cubic meters; and shale gas production exceeded 20 billion cubic meters. In China, conventional natural gas reserves and production are insufficient to meet the growth in demand. With limited room for growth in China’s domestic natural gas production, importing natural gas is necessary.

As of the end of 2020, the total receiving capacity of China’s LNG terminals reached 87 million tonnes/year, a year-on-year increase of 14.2%, with an additional annual receiving capacity of 10.85 million tonnes/year. Besides, the potential of ongoing and upcoming projects is huge. If these projects are completed as scheduled, it is estimated that by the end of 2025, China’s LNG receiving capacity will be close to 180 million tonnes/year.

In 2020, There were 24 LNG import sources for China, among which Australia ranked first with 46% of imports and Qatar ranked second, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia. The top 5 import sources of pipeline gas were Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Russia.

In 2020, China imported 101.66 million tonnes of natural gas (about 140.3 billion cubic meters), a year-on-year increase of 5.3%. Among them, the import volume of LNG was 67.13 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%. The import volume of gaseous natural gas was 34.53 million tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 4.9%. According to CRI, impacted by the increase of domestic gas production and the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of China’s natural gas imports slowed down in 2020. China’s degree of dependence on imported natural gas was about 43% in 2020, 2% lower than in 2019.

In the first half of 2021, China’s natural gas imports increased significantly. According to China Customs, from January to June 2021, China imported 59.82 million tonnes of natural gas, an increase of 23.8% over the same period in 2020, and the import value was CNY136.24 billion, an increase of 9.5% over the same period in 2020.

During the first half of 2021, the growth of China’s natural gas imports mainly happened in LNG sector. The January and February of 2021 was the winter season in China, which was much colder than the same period in 2020. Temperatures in most parts of China plunged, so residents’ demand for LNG for heating rose sharply, prompting a significant increase in China’s LNG imports. As the temperature rose in March 2021, residents’ demand for heating weakened, and thus natural gas imports decreased. However, as the “coal-to-gas” project continued, industrial and commercial demand for natural gas kept growing, prompting China’s natural gas imports to increase again. On the whole, China’s natural gas imports increased significantly in the first half of 2021.

Regarding import sources, in the first half of 2021, China’s LNG imports were from 24 countries, of which Australia still ranked first in, accounting for 39% of imports. Malaysia ranked second, accounting for 12%, followed by Qatar, the United States, and Indonesia. China’s import sources of pipeline gas are relatively fixed. They are Turkmenistan, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, and Uzbekistan.

According to CRI, considering natural gas extraction in China, non-state-owned capital is subject to many restrictions. But private enterprises and foreign capital can invest in shale gas, coalbed methane, LNG, and terminal gas supply. These fields are currently encouraged by the Chinese government and enjoy certain preferential policies. For a long time, China’s LNG import companies were only China’s three state-owned petrochemical companies: CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC. With the easing of Chinese government’s restrictions on LNG import, some non-state-owned enterprises have also gradually been allowed to import LNG and build LNG terminals.

According to CRI’s forecast, with the development of China’s economy, industry and urbanization, as well as its increasingly stringent environmental protection policies, the substitution of natural gas and LNG for coal is continuing. It is expected that China’s demand for natural gas and LNG will continue to rise in the next few years. In China, more than half of households still use wood or coal as their main fuel, which means that there is huge room for the expansion of natural gas and LNG market. As China’s domestic natural gas production has limited room for growth, it is expected that from 2021 to 2025, China’s LNG imports will continue to rise.

Topics Covered:

The impact of COVID-19 on China’s LNG import
China’s LNG production and consumption
Analysis of China’s LNG imports, 2016-2021
China’s main sources of LNG import
Analysis of prices of domestic and imported LNG in China’s market
The key influencing factors of China’s LNG import
Forecast on China’s LNG import, 2021-2025

The post Research Report on China’s LNG (liquefied natural gas) Import, 2021-2025 first appeared on CRI Report.

Sample of Research Report on China Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Import, 2017-2021

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 07:36:07 +0000

This is a free sample of

Research Report on China Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Import, 2017-2021

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Research Report on China Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Import, 2017-2021

admin — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 09:06:32 +0000

Description
According to CRI, LNG production volume of China was about 136.9 billion cubic meters in 2016, up by 1.7% YOY. China’s conventional natural gas reserves and production volume are not abundant which cannot meet the growing demands. Due to the limited growth potential of domestic natural gas production volume, it is inevitable to import natural gas. China’s dependence on imported petroleum and gas keeps growing. In 2016, China’s LNG import volume was 26.15 million tons, up by 32.97% compared to 2015. In 2016, there were 17 LNG countries of origin for China, yet over 90% of imported LNG was imported from 5 LNG countries of origin which had long-term contracts with China.
On May 12th, 2017, initial results of the 100-Day Action Plan of the Sino-US Economic Cooperation was published, and the two countries reached consensus on fields including agricultural product trade, finance service, investment and energy. As for natural gas, the U.S. welcomes China and other trade partners to import LNG from America. The U.S. promised to give China better preferential treatment than that to other trade partners out of Free Trade Agreement in terms of licensing of export. Chinese companies can negotiate with LNG exporters about all types of contracts including long-term contracts anytime.
According to CRI, from Jan to May in 2017, China imported around 400,000 tons of LNG worth USD 166 million from the U.S., and the average import price was USD 401 per ton. Although there were large gaps in the import volume of LNG between U.S. and the top two import resources: 5.46 million tons from Australia and 3.11 million tons from Qatar, the U.S. is still expected to become one of the major import resources with further implementation of “Sino-US 100-Day Action Plan”.
According to CRI, China’s major LNG import resources include Australia, Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and so on. Australia is lower than America and America is lower than Qatar in terms of average import price, therefore, American LNG has an obvious advantage in price. From the perspective of transportation distance, it takes 10-12 days for Australian LNG while 15-20 days for Qatar to reach China. Australian and Qatar have large advantages over America. Therefore, in short term, Australian LNG still possesses a leading position in China’s LNG import market even with the openness of American LNG import. However, market share of Qatar LNG export in China may be gradually replaced by that of America for its disadvantage in price. With the progress and innovation of American shale gas technique, the cost of American LNG is expected to drop and bring impact to current international LNG supply structure.
According to CRI, non state-owned capital has many restrictions in natural gas exploitation field. However, private and foreign-funded enterprises can invest in fields such as shale gas, coal bed gas and LNG as well as terminal gas supply, which enjoy preferential policies and are encouraged by the Chinese government. The three state-owned petrochemical enterprises, namely, CNPC, Sinopec Group and CNOOC are the only LNG import enterprises in China for a long time. With fewer restrictions in LNG import policies, some non state-owned enterprises are gradually allowed to import LNG and build LNG receiving stations.
According to CRI, coals continue to be replaced by natural gas and LNG with the development of China economy and industry, urbanization and stricter environmental protection policies in China. Demand for natural gas and LNG is expected to keep growing in the next few years. Up to now, there are still more than half of families using firewood and coals as their main fuels in China, therefore natural gas and LNG have a large market potential. Due to limited growth potential of production volume of domestic natural gas, LNG import volume is expected to be growing in 2017-2021.

Through this report, the readers can acquire the following information:
-Government Policy of China LNG Industry
-Supply and Consumption Status of Natural Gas and LNG in China
-LNG Price Trend in China Market, 2014-2017
-Analysis on LNG Import in China
-Major LNG Countries of Origin in China, 2015-2017
-Analysis on LNG Import Price in China, 2015-2017
-Forecast on LNG Import in China, 2017-2021

The post Research Report on China Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Import, 2017-2021 first appeared on CRI Report.