China imports 4.71m tons of LNG in August, meeting growing domestic demand

China imported 4.71 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in August, up 51.5 percent year-on-year, the customs authority said on Sunday.

Total LNG imports in the first eight months reached 32.63 million tons, up 47.8 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China surpassed South Korea to become the world’s second-largest importer of LNG in 2017, according to IHS Markit, a global marketing information company.

China’s imports of natural gas have grown to meet increasing domestic consumption, primarily driven by environmental policies to replace coal-fired electricity generation.

According to an industry report, the country is likely to surpass Japan to become the world’s largest natural gas importer by 2019, with imports expected to reach 171 billion cubic meters by 2023, mostly LNG.

China is ramping up efforts to make sure it has enough natural gas before making more residents stop using coal for heating this winter, State media reported in August, to try to avoid a repeat of the shortages that hit parts of northern China in 2017.

According to a People’s Daily report from August, China’s reliance on imported natural gas is expected to rise to 44 percent this year from 38 percent in 2017, putting supplies under even greater pressure.

As the trade war between the US and China escalates, fewer vessels carrying US LNG have been going to China, Reuters reported in September.

China, which purchased about 15 percent of all US LNG shipped in 2017, has taken delivery from just four vessels since June versus 17 during the first five months of the year.