China increased its purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 17.8% year-on-year, making it the world’s largest importer of this material for the first time in 2021, according to a report by the IHS Markit consultancy echoed by the Caixin economic news portal.
China imported a total of 81.4 million tons of GNL over the past year, while Japan fell from the top of the list for the first time since the early 1970s after increasing its purchases by 0.2% to 75 million tonnes.
The report also points out that Australia – the country with which China does not maintain good relations in recent times – it is the main world exporter of LNG with 83 million tons in 2021, although the forecasts of IHS Markit they are for the United States to surpass the island nation and Qatar and claim the throne throughout the year that has just begun.
The world market for liquefied natural gas, an energy source considered less polluting than others of fossil origin such as oil or coal, experienced a great expansion in 2021, he explained. Michael Stoppard, expert of IHS Markit.
In fact, in Asia The prices of this material reached all-time highs last year at around US $ 40 per million British thermal units (mmbtu), a measure that expresses the heating quality of different types of fuel.
Specific, China notably reinforced its natural gas imports as part of the measures to guarantee energy supply for the winter season after the electricity availability crisis that hit various parts of the country since mid-September and resulted in power outages. electricity in areas of the Northeast or rationing policies in important industrial centers.
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