China, the world’s largest energy consumer, continues to boost its monthly LNG imports and they rose 24.3 percent in October.
The country imported 6.17 million tonnes of LNG last month on the back of high demand from the power generation and industrial sectors, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
However, imports dropped when compared to the previous month. China received 6.75 million tonnes of LNG in September.
During the January-October period, China imported 64.50 million tonnes of the fuel, the data said. Compared to the same period last year, LNG imports rose by 22.5 percent.
China’s pipeline gas imports also increased by 27.9 percent to 3.21 million tonnes in October.
These imports rose by 22 percent in the January-October period reaching about 34.58 million tonnes.
China’s LNG imports hit an all-time high last year rising 11.5 percent when compared to the year before. The country imported 67.13 million tonnes in 2020, cementing its position as the second-largest LNG importer, after Japan.
Boosted by strong demand, China will probably overtake Japan as the world’s top LNG importer this year.
Japan’s LNG imports dropped in October for the second straight month and the country imported about 61.37 million tonnes in the January-October period. This is some 3.13 million tonnes less than China imported during the same period.
