China's October Gas Imports Rise

China imported 7.29mn metric tons of natural gas (pipeline and LNG) in October, up over 25% year-on-year, customs data showed November 8.

Imports were, however, down on September when China imported 7.62mn mt of natural gas.  In the first ten months of 2018, China imported little over 72mn mt of gas, up 33.1% compared with the same period of 2017.

China’s gas imports have been rising since the start of 2017 as the government aggressively implemented the coal to gas switching programme, especially in the northern part of the country. During full year 2017, Chinese gas imports totalled 68.57mn mt, up 27% year on year. That included record Chinese LNG imports of 38.13mn mt, up more than 46%.