This puts China on track to overtake Japan as the largest importer of LNG in the world as early as 2019.
The August import numbers were 51.5 percent above the same period in 2017, according to the Customs Authority. Imports of natural gas have grown to meet increasing demand driven by environmental policies to replace coal-fired electricity generation.
The rapid growth in LNG imports is also driving the cost of transportation higher, with Atlantic cargoes bound for Asia approaching $100,000 per day for Large LNG carriers, up from $30,000 per day a year ago.
In addition to China’s appetite for LNG, utilities in Japan and South Korea have also been storing up LNG for the winter season.
‘If you’re at $85,000 now, you could easily see $115,000 to $120,000 in the winter’, US investment bank Jefferies’ energy shipping analyst Randy Giveans told Reuters.
More tonne miles from longer distances covered to transport LNG from new terminals in the United States and Arctic Russia, as well as a limited number of ships, is adding further momentum to the bullishness in the LNG shipping market. Combined, these factors have led to a strong period charter market for LNG carriers, spurring owners to add a record number of new build ships to the shipyard order book.