China's natural gas imports will increase 14% in the first half of 2024

China's natural gas imports, including pipelines and LNG cargo, increased 14.3% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

China imported 64.65 million tons of natural gas in the first half of 2024, LNG Prime reported on Friday, citing data from China's General Administration of Customs.

Since LNG prices fell below the same period last year at the beginning of this year, imports from China fell 0.8% to remain at 31.7 billion dollars in the first half of the year.

China's natural gas imports in 2024/6 only increased by 0.4% compared to the same month last year.

While international prices from January to April 2024 are at half the level of last year, China increased imports of natural gas from January to April in order to stockpile fuel for power plants before summer. China's natural gas imports are estimated to have surged 21% between January and April compared to the same period last year.

According to Bloomberg's estimates, the average Asian benchmark LNG price for the first quarter of 2024 was just over $9 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu), compared to this, LNG prices for North Asia were 18 dollars per mmBTU in the first quarter of last year.

However, the spot price of LNG for North Asia rose from late spring to early summer, and has exceeded $12/mmBTU in recent weeks.

An official from state-owned energy giant PetroChina said in May that China could hit a record high in LNG imports as the industrial and commercial sectors drive demand for ultra-cryogenic fuels this year.

China's LNG imports hit a record high of 78.8 million tons in 2021. The following year, LNG imports declined for the first time as prices soared due to the energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, China imported about 71.2 million tons of LNG.