By Rhod Mackenzie
In May 2023, China imported 13.51 billion cubic meters of natural gas (the total figure for pipeline supplies and LNG), which is a historical maximum for this month.
According to local customs, the May 2023 figure was 19% higher than the May 2022 figure. But most importantly, it significantly surpassed imports in May 2021 (13.28 billion cubic meters), when anti-COVID measures were gradually weakened. Subsequently, in 2022, these restrictions were again tightened.
One of the main drivers of the global energy market in 2023, after the lifting of restrictive measures, is precisely the growth of the Chinese economy.
A more detailed foreign trade summary, broken down by LNG and pipelines, and broken down by country, will be released by national customs in the coming weeks.
China receives pipeline gas from five suppliers : Russia , Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Myanmar. Large-tonnage LNG in the Russian Federation is produced by Sakhalin Energy plants (co-owners are Gazprom, Mitsui and Mitsubishi), as well as Yamal LNG (participants are NOVATEK, TotalEnergies, Chinese CNPC and SRF).
In May 2023, the average cost of gas imports decreased to $373 per thousand cubic meters, which is the lowest value in the last 22 months (since August 2021).
This article orginally appeared in Russian at interfax.ru