Japan’s LNG imports slip

Japanese imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) slipped slightly during the last month of 2019. 

According to the provisional data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance, a total of 6.8 million tons of liquefied natural gas have been imported into Japan during December 2019, 6.2 percent below the volumes imported into the country during December 2018.

December LNG imports have been valued at $3.3 billion, 23.5 percent down on the value of LNG imports in December 2018.

The data shows that imports of US LNG slipped 9.2 percent, reaching 406,000 tonnes. Imports from Asian sources such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Brunei slipped 21.9 percent compared to the corresponding month in 2018, reaching 1.41 million tonnes.

Imports of liquefied natural gas from the Middle East were 14.6 percent below the corresponding month in 2018 reaching 1.29 million tonners, while LNG imports from Russia jumped 12.6 percent reaching 672,000 tonnes.

The country’s coal imports for power generation stood at 10.77 million tonnes, jumping 20.6 percent above the corresponding month in 2018.

Annual LNG imports drop

Over the year 2019, Japan imported a total of 77.32 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas slipping 6.7 percent compared to the volumes imported in 2018.

The value of the imports in 2019 reached $43.53 billion 8.1 percent below the value of 2018 LNG imports.

Japan’s Ministry of Finance data shows that 3.69 million tonnes of LNG have been imported from the United States, 48.2 percent up on the volumes in 2018. LNG imports from Asian sources were down 13.5 percent, totaling 17.87 million tonnes.

LNG imports from the Middle East plunged 23.2 percent to a total of 13.79 million tonnes in 2019. Russia supplied 6.39 million tonnes over the course of 2019, 4.1 percent below the volumes delivered in the previous year.

The country’s coal imports for power generation slipped 2.2 percent reaching a total of 111 million tonnes for the twelve months of 2019.