China, well-positioned in a tight global market sells record LNG volumes

Chinese firms are reselling record amounts of LNG to cash in on the soaring spot prices. China has plenty of 'domestic gas and pipeline gas' to meet its weakened demand, unlike other Asian buyers who scramble to replace supplies that were cut off due to the Iran War.

China, the world's largest importer of LNG, reloaded between 8 and 10 cargoes during March, a record monthly total, according to analysts ICIS, Kpler, and Vortexa.

Kpler data showed that China reloaded 1,31 million metric tonnes of LNG so far this year. Of these, 10 were delivered to South Korea and five to Thailand, while the rest went to Japan, India, and the Philippines.

Comparatively, China sold 0.82 million tonnes in 2025, and 0.98 millions tons in 2023. This is the second highest annual total ever.

As the country's own LNG needs have plateaued due to weaker economic activity, it has been able resell larger volumes. Meanwhile, domestic gas production is increasing and Russian supply via pipelines.

The LNG reloads are in contrast to China's decision last month to prohibit exports of refined fuels to maintain supply for domestic use due to war-related crude oil supply shortages.

The Iran crisis also drove up LNG spot prices.

The heating season has ended and spot prices have been good, so China is able to reload its cargoes.

Asian LNG Prices Since the U.S. launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, energy shipments via the Strait of Hormuz, which transports about a fifth of the global LNG flow, have increased by?85%.

Vortexa analysts in a report said that CNOOC’s Binhai Terminal?in Jiangsu Province accounted for nearly half of China’s reloads during March.

Import SLumps

China, Qatar's largest?LNG export market, accounted for nearly a quarter last year. These exports plummeted in March, after Iran bombed Qatar’s gas installations and closed the Strait of Hormuz.

Kpler data indicates that China's imports in March were 3.68 million tonnes, the lowest monthly level since April 2018.

The drop in imports is due to the low demand for industrial gas amid high prices after the Hormuz disruptions. The outlook for domestic gas production and pipeline?gas imports remains stable, according to Kpler analyst Nelson Xiong.

The Chinese buyers can also rely on the LNG inventory to meet some of their domestic demand.

ICIS expects imports in April to be low, at 3.7 millions tons.

Wang said that China would not compete with other countries for cargoes. (Reporting from Emily Chow and Sam Li in Singapore; editing by Sonali Paul.)

(source: Reuters)