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State-owned Kogas sold 3.96 million mt last month, down 2.9 percent from 4.08 million mt in December 2023, the firm said in a stock exchange filing.
December sales were higher than the previous month’s 2.67 million mt, which marked a decrease of 13.9 percent year-on-year.
The sales were the second-highest last year after 4.42 million mt in January 2024.
Purchases by power firms decreased 4.6 percent year-on-year to 1.35 million mt in December and they were 24.2 percent higher compared to the previous month.
Moreover, Kogas said its city gas sales decreased by 2 percent year-on-year to 2.61 million mt in December but were higher by 65.1 percent from the previous month.
Kogas did not provide data for the entire year of 2024.
Based on the company’s monthly reports, Kogas sold 34.19 million mt in 2024.
This is down by 1.3 percent compared to 34.64 million mt in 2023.
Kogas said in its quarterly result reports that its sales to power firms decreased in January-September 2024 due to higher power generation by direct LNG sourcing companies.
On the other hand, city gas sales increased due to a lower average temperature and economic recovery, as well as strong exports boosting manufacturing demand.
Korean LNG imports rise
Kogas operates 77 LNG storage tanks at five LNG import terminals in South Korea.
The large terminals include Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Tongyeong, and Samcheok, while the firm has a small-scale regasification terminal at the Aewol port on Jeju island as well.
In addition to these facilities, the firm is building a large terminal in the western port city of Dangjin and expects to launch the first phase in 2025.
In August, Kogas completed lifting the roofs on all four 270,000-cbm tanks at its Dangjin LNG import facility.
Official data for South Korean LNG imports in December of this year has not yet been released.
According to customs data, South Korean LNG terminals took 42.05 million mt in January-November, a rise from 39.14 million mt in the same period in 2023.
Australia was the biggest supplier during the period, with 10.53 million mt of LNG, followed by Malaysia with 5.39 million mt and Oman with 4.22 million mt, the data shows.