South Korean LNG importing giant Kogas said the company’s December gas sales declined 5.8 percent, marking the first monthly year-on-year decrease during 2021.
Kogas sold 4.27 million mt last month. This compares to about 4.53 million mt Kogas had sold in December last year, according to a stock exchange filing.
December sales rose almost 27 percent when compared to the previous month’s 3.36 million mt, the state-owned firm said.
Purchases by power firms dropped 13.3 percent year-on-year to 1.56 million mt in December. These purchases rose by 3.2 percent when compared to the previous month.
Furthermore, Kogas said its sales to retail gas companies for households and businesses decreased 0.8 percent year-on-year to 2.71 million mt, while they surged 46.2 percent compared to the month before.
Kogas currently operates four large-scale LNG terminals, namely Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Tongyeong, and Samcheok, as well as a small-scale regasification terminal at the Aewol port on Jeju island. The LNG importer is building a large terminal in Dangjin as well.
Besides the LNG business, Kogas also has big plans for hydrogen. Kogas has last year revealed ambitious plans for its hydrogen business as it aims to reach 3 trillion won ($2.55 billion) in operating profit by 2030.
The firm said then it plans to supply 830,000 tons of hydrogen per year by 2030, including importing green hydrogen from overseas from countries such as Australia.
It also recently started building a hydrogen production plant in Gwangju, a city in the country’s southwestern region.
Kogas said this is the first out of three mid-to-large scale hydrogen plants the company plans to build by 2023.
The other two plants would be located in Changwon and the port city of Pyeongtaek.