South Korean LNG importer Kogas boosted its gas sales year-on-year for the second month in a row in June.
State-owned Kogas sold 2.28 million mt last month, a rise of 8.7 percent compared to 2.10 million mt in June 2023, according to a stock exchange filing.
June sales were almost flat compared to the previous month’s 2.27 million mt, which rose 6 percent year-on-year,
In April, sales dropped 7.5 percent to 2.3 million mt, while in March sales rose 10.9 percent to 3.48 million mt, marking the first monthly increase since August last year.
Purchases by power firms rose 10.5 percent year-on-year to 1.31 million mt in June. These purchases increased 13.6 percent compared to the previous month.
Moreover, Kogas said its city gas sales rose 6.4 percent year-on-year to 0.96 million mt, while these sales dropped 13.5 percent compared to the month before.
The company recently said in a press release that city gas rates for residential and general use will rise by 6.8 percent starting on August 1 to address its growing receivables.
According to Kogas, this rate is the first increase since May 2023 and will help reduce the financial burden on the company, which has been supplying gas at below-cost prices following the rise in prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Kogas previously said in its first quarter earnings report that city gas demand rose 5.5 percent during the period.
Residential demand increased due to a lower average temperature and economic recovery, and industrial demand rose due to strong exports which improved manufacturing demand, it said.
Kogas said total power generation decreased 13.6 percent in the first quarter due to higher power generation by direct LNG sourcing companies.
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 and expects to launch the first phase in 2025.
In May, Kogas completed lifting the roof on the first 270,000-cbm tank at its Dangjin LNG import facility.
South Korea imported 44.1 million mt of LNG in 2023, down from 46.3 million mt in the year before, according to customs data.
Official data for South Korean LNG imports in June this year is not yet available.
During January-May, South Korean LNG terminals took 20.37 million mt, a rise from 20.16 million mt in the same period last year.
Australia was the biggest supplier during the period with 5.28 million mt of LNG, and the country was followed by Malaysia with 2.39 million mt and Oman with 1.95 million mt, the data shows.
South Korean LNG imports in May rose to 3.58 million mt from 3.10 million mt in May 2023, the data shows.
In January, LNG imports rose to 4.85 million mt from 4.78 million mt in January 2023, and LNG imports in February dropped to 4.20 million mt from 5.08 million mt in the same month last year, while LNG imports in March dropped to 3.57 million mt from 4.03 million mt, and LNG imports in April rose to 4.15 million mt from 3.15 million mt in April 2023, the data shows.