Global LNG demand falls as European receipts plunge

Global LNG demand fell in November as a sharp drop in European receipts more than offset growth in Asian markets, but it remains on track to grow in 2020 from a year earlier.

LNG receipts fell to 29.7mn t in November from 30.9mn t a year earlier, preliminary figures from analytics firm Vortexa show. The drop was mainly the result of European demand shrinking by nearly 30pc to 5.85mn t. Poland and Lithuania were the only two markets in the region that recorded a slight increase in deliveries last month.

Slower European demand more than offset growth in Asian, which rose to 18.5mn t from 17.3mn t, driven by stronger deliveries to India and China. Deliveries to northeast Asia rose slightly to 18mn t from 17.8mn t, as a 12pc increase in deliveries to China was largely offset by a slowdown in demand from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. LNG demand grew more consistently across south Asia, with deliveries to India and Pakistan rising sharply on the year.

China was again the largest LNG importer in November, but is on course to remain behind Japan for the whole of 2020. Deliveries to Japan totalled 68.7mn t in January-November, above Chinese receipts of 61.1mn t.

Global LNG demand remains on track to grow this year, with 327mn t delivered in January-November, up from 318mn t a year earlier. But the bulk of the demand growth in 2020 was recorded before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the 13pc increase recorded in the first quarter gradually eroded throughout the rest of the year. Global demand shrank in June for the first time since 2015 and fell short of a year earlier in July-August, before rebounding slightly in September-October.

By Antonio Peciccia