By Eyo Nsima
China and Japan have been identified as two top destinations for Australian Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG.
According to the EnergyQuest Report, obtained by The Daily, www.thedaily-ng.com, it stated: “Australia had by far the largest market share in China in 2020 with 29.1 Mt (43.3%) of the total LNG imports. Qatar was the next largest exporting country with 8.1 Mt (12.1%) of the total Chinese LNG imports.
“However, both countries lost market share in 2020 compared to 2019, to Russia and the US. In 2019, Australia exported 27.9 Mt to China (46.1% of total imports) while Qatar exported 8.3 Mt (13.7% of total imports).
“Russia was an important exporter to China in 2020 with 5.1 Mt, twice the volume of their 2019 exports (2.5 Mt). Russia’s market share jumped from 4.2% in 2019 to 7.6% in 2020. The US was the standout improver in 2020, with the largest increase in LNG export volumes into China.
“The US increased their export volumes by almost 3.0 Mt from 0.3 Mt in 2019 to 3.3 Mt in 2020. This is a 12-fold increase, albeit from a low starting point, as a result of the easing of trade tensions between the two countries. Malaysia saw a 12.9% fall in exports to China to 6.1 Mt in 2020 compared to 6.9 Mt in 2019, while Indonesia increased exports to China by 11.3% to 5.1 Mt.
“Australia also had the largest share of the Japanese market, with 29.1 Mt (39.1%) of the total LNG imports. Although total exports to Japan from Australia fell in 2020 compared to 30.1 Mt in 2019, the market share increased marginally to 39.1% from 38.9% in 2019 due to Japan’s falling import volumes.
“Malaysia was the next most important exporter to Japan in 2020 with 14.2% market share, up from 12.1% in 2019. Malaysia exported a total of 10.6 Mt to Japan in 2020 compared to 9.3 Mt in 2019. Qatar exported 8.7 Mt (11.7% of total imports) to Japan in 2020 compared to 8.7 Mt (11.3%) in 2019.
“In Korea, Qatar was the largest supplier with 9.1 Mt, 22.7% of total import volumes. This was lower compared to 2019 when Qatar supplied 11.3 Mt (27.8% of total imports). Australia was the next most important supplier with 8.0 Mt in 2020 compared to 7.8 Mt in 2019. Australia held 20% of the market share in Korea in 2020 compared to 19.1% in 2019. Malaysia and the US were also significant exporters to Korea, with 4.9 Mt (12.3%) and 5.8 Mt (14.5%) respectively in 2020.”
It added: “Both countries have increased their market share in Korea in 2020 compared to 2019. Qatar was the largest supplier to Taiwan in 2020, with Australia in second place. Imports from Qatar were 5.2 Mt in 2020, up 11.4% from 4.7 Mt in 2019. Imports from Australia increased by 8% to 4.8 Mt in 2020. Russia was also an important supplier to Taiwan in 2020, exporting 2.5 Mt to Taiwan, while Malaysia’s exports fell significantly to 0.8 Mt after exporting 2.5 Mt to Taiwan in 2019.”