China's April Imports Up

China imported 6.81mn metric tons LNG equivalent (about 5bn m³ of pipeline equivalent) in April, up 34% year on year, customs data showed May 8. In the first four months of 2018, China imported a little over 27mn mt of gas, compared with 20mn mt in the same period 2017.

China’s gas imports have been trending higher since the start of 2017 as the government pushed households and industries to switch from coal to gas. During full year 2017, Chinese gas imports totalled 68.57mn mt, up 27% year on year. That included record Chinese LNG imports of 38.13mn mt, up more than 46%.