China's March Gas Imports Strong

China imported 5.96mn metric tons LNG equivalent (8bn m³ pipeline gas) in March, up 39% year on year, customs data showed April 13. In February, the country imported 6.94mn mt, up almost 41% year on year. In January it imported 7.77mn mt, up 33% on year. Asia’s biggest economy set a record in December 2017 when it imported an all-time high: 7.89mn mt LNG equivalent.

In the first quarter, China imported nearly 21mn mt of gas, compared with 15mn mt in the same period 2017.

China’s gas imports have been trending higher since the start of 2017 as the government pushed households and industries to switch from coal to gas. During full year 2017, Chinese gas imports totalled 68.57mn mt, up 27% year on year. That included record Chinese LNG imports of 38.13mn mt, up more than 46%, making it the new number two LNG importer ahead of South Korea, but still lagging Japan.