Taiwan’s LNG imports drop in January

Preliminary data from the Directorate General of Customs shows that the country received 1.48 million tonnes of LNG in January.

This is down by 14.9 percent year-on-year compared to 1.74 million mt in 2024.

Taiwan paid $863.8 million for LNG imports in January, down from $1.08 billion during the same month last year.

The data shows that most of the January LNG supplies came from Qatar (559,052 t) and Australia (376,054 t).

Qatari volumes rose compared to 493,645 t in January 2024, while Australian volumes decreased compared to 647,470 t in January 2024.

Other LNG suppliers to Taiwan last month include the US (199,999 t), Papua New Guinea (154,593 t), Russia (70,500 t), Brunei (62,928 t), and Indonesia (61,131 t).

In December 2024, Taiwan’s LNG terminals received 1.78 million mt, and Taiwan paid $1.07 billion for these imports.

During the full year 2024, Taiwan received 21.50 million tonnes of LNG, up by 7.1 percent compared to 2023.

Last year, Taiwan paid $11.92 billion for LNG imports, down from $12.35 billion in 2023.

The rise in Taiwan’s LNG imports can be attributed to the shift of the power generation mix towards more natural gas but also less coal and the phase-out of nuclear power generation planned for 2025, GIIGNL previously said.

Taiwan currently imports LNG via two terminals operated by state-owned CPC.

CPC operates the Yung-An LNG terminal with a capacity of 10.5 mtpa and the Taichung LNG import terminal with a capacity of 6 mtpa.

The firm is also expanding its Taichung LNG terminal.

In addition, CPC is also working on the Guantang LNG terminal and the Zhouji LNG terminal.