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State-owned Kogas sold 4.21 million mt last month, compared to 3.50 million mt in February 2024, the firm said in a stock exchange filing.
February sales were slightly lower compared to the previous month’s 4.30 million mt, which marked a decrease of 2.6 percent year over year.
Purchases by power firms increased 20.6 percent year-on-year to 1.54 million mt in February, and they were higher by 2.7 percent compared to the previous month.
Moreover, Kogas said its city gas sales rose 20.2 percent year-on-year to 2.66 million mt in February but were lower 4.7 percent from the previous month.
Kogas said in its fourth-quarter report last month it had sold 34.19 million mt in 2024.
This is down by 1.3 percent compared to 34.64 million mt in 2023.
Kogas said its city gas sales rose by 0.7 percent to 18.46 million mt, while purchases by power firms decreased 3.6 percent to 15.7 million mt.
According to Kogas, residential demand decreased due to rising average temperatures, while industrial demand increased due to the economic recovery trend in the first half and continued export growth in the second half.
Kogas noted total power generation decreased due to an increase in direct import power generation.
Korean LNG imports
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.
Official data for South Korean LNG imports in February of this year has not yet been released.
According to customs data, South Korean LNG terminals took 4.42 million mt in January this year, a drop from 4.85 million mt in January 2024.
Australia was the biggest supplier to South Korea in January, with 1.36 million mt of LNG, followed by Qatar with 780,243 mt and Malaysia with 623,924 mt, the data shows.
Customs data previously showed that South Korean LNG terminals took 46.3 million mt in 2024, a rise from 44.1 million mt in 2023.
Australia was the biggest supplier last year, with 11.4 million mt of LNG, followed by Malaysia with 6.13 million mt and Oman with 4.72 million mt, the data shows.