China's LNG consumption rose steadily in 2023, but the proportion of domestically-produced LNG declined continuously, according to OilChem.
Domestic LNG consumption stood at 734,600 tonnes by the week ended June 15, an increase of 6.4% compared to last week, data from OilChem showed. The increment was attributed to rising city gas demand driven by low LNG prices, which even tumbled below Yuan 3,400/tonne in North China since June.
However, domestic LNG factories took maintenance successively as there was no production profit under falling LNG prices and higher feed gas costs, while the terminals were eager to sell goods on busy import arrivals, thus lifting the proportion of imported LNG supply in domestic market.
Data from OilChem showed that domestic LNG factories sold a total of 400,100 tonnes of LNG this week, edging up 2.01% from last week, but its proportion in total domestic market supply dropped 3.67 percentage points to 54.34%.
At the same time, LNG sales volume by truck at coastal terminals jumped 18.42% to 336,200 tonnes, accounting for 45.66% of total domestic LNG supply. Separately, that in North China inched up 24.87%, the biggest gain in coastal areas due to more attractive prices, that in East China increased by 15.48% and that in South China climbed by 6.79%, the data revealed.
Looking ahead, domestic LNG prices lack momentum as the demand side weighs on the market in the near term, while rising international spot LNG prices might give a strong boost to imported LNG prices. Therefore, market players are advised to stay cautious to mitigate potential risks.
Written by Sunny Fang, fss@oilchem.net
Edited by Navy Liu, navy@oilchem.net