Korea's LNG Imports Likely to Reach New High

The Korea International Trade Association announced on Sept. 22 that South Korea imported 30.64 million tons of LNG for the first eight months of this year, up 20 percent from a year ago. For reference, South Korea’s LNG imports were the largest in 2018 and the imports for the first eight months of this year are about 8 percent larger than that year’s January to August imports.

The surge in LNG demand in 2018 was because of an increase in heating demand caused by the cold wave in January and February that year and an increase in LNG-based power generation demand caused by nuclear power plant maintenance. The imports were approximately 44.02 million tons in 2018.

In the 1980s and 1990s, South Korea imported LNG mainly from Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. In 1999, South Korea imported LNG from Qatar for the first time. Qatar became the biggest supplier for South Korea in the mid-2000s.

The second-biggest is the United States, which was the third-biggest in 2019 and 2020. South Korea has increased its LNG imports from the United States since 2017. The third-biggest is Australia and South Korea’s LNG imports from Qatar, the United States and Australia account for more than half of its total LNG demand.

Its LNG demand is likely to continue to increase for years to come. This is because the South Korean government is trying to increase the use of renewable energy and reduce the use of nuclear power plants and LNG can be a middle stage of the process.