GLOBAL LNG TRADE UP 8%

EIA - In 2018, global trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased by 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to 41.3 Bcf/d, an 8% increase from 2017 and the third-largest annual increase on record.

Global spot and short-term LNG trade increased by 2.9 Bcf/d, the largest annual increase on record. Spot and short-term trade accounted for 32% of the total global LNG trade in 2018, up from 27% in 2017, as more uncontracted LNG supply, particularly from Australia, Russia, and the United States became available on the spot market.

Global liquefaction capacity continued to expand in 2018, as eight new liquefaction trains with a combined nameplate capacity of 4.8 Bcf/d were placed in service. Australia commissioned two new liquefaction trains—Wheatstone Train 2 and Ichthys Train 1—and is on track to overtake Qatar as the largest LNG exporter once the remaining projects (Ichthys Train 2 and Prelude Floating LNG) are commissioned in 2019, and all trains ramp up to full production. The United States commissioned three new liquefaction trains—Cove Point, Sabine Pass Train 5, and Corpus Christi Train 1, which added a combined 1.9 Bcf/d of liquefaction capacity. Russia's Yamal LNG commissioned Trains 2 and 3, and Train 3 came online six months ahead of schedule. In 2018, Cameroon became the newest LNG exporter after commissioning Kribi offshore liquefaction project, which uses a Floating LNG production barge called Hilli Episeyo, converted from a regular LNG vessel.

Asian countries continued to lead the growth in global LNG demand in 2018, with four countries—China, South Korea, India, and Pakistan—increasing LNG imports by a combined 3.5 Bcf/d. China, after becoming world's second-largest LNG importer in 2017, continued to increase LNG imports in 2018 by 2 Bcf/d, the largest annual increase since the country began importing LNG in 2006. Strong growth in China's natural gas consumption supported by government policies promoting coal-to-natural gas switching in the industrial, power, and residential/commercial sectors, led to China overtaking Japan as the world's largest natural gas importer in 2018. In South Korea, extended maintenance of nuclear plants required higher generation from natural gas-fired power plants and higher LNG imports, which increased by 0.8 Bcf/d year on year.

Several countries decreased their LNG imports in 2018 because of changing market conditions within these countries. Increases in domestic natural gas production in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates led to a decline in LNG imports in these countries of 0.6 Bcf/d and 0.2 Bcf/d, respectively. In Japan, the restart of several nuclear power plants led to a decline in LNG imports, which are expected to continue decreasing as more nuclear reactors are brought back online over the next several years.

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