China: LNG Imports in March Up 40 Percent

April 22, 2011

China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, boosted March imports of liquefied natural gas by 40% and paid 37% more for the fuel per tonne.

Purchases rose to 840,500 tonnes last month from 599,740 tonnes a year earlier, according to data published by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs. Imports reached a record 1.03 million tonnes in December.

The purchases were valued at about US$361mil, the data show. That’s equivalent to a delivered cost of about US$430 a tonne, or about US$8.23 per million British thermal units, nearly twice the price of the US gas benchmark future at Henry Hub.

First-quarter imports rose 25% to 2.3 million tonnes, costing US$376 a tonne on average.

In March, China received two spot cargoes compared with four in February, the data show. The shipments in March were from Yemen and Russia, and cost an average US$657 a tonne.

The Yemeni cargo cost about US$745 a tonne, more than three times US benchmark gas futures prices and about 51% higher than UK gas futures.

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Source: Star Malaysia, April 22, 2011;