OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2012. China imported 1.33 million tons (mt) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in July, up by 12.62 percent from last year and an increase of 9.91 percent from June, figures released by the country’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed.

July’s imports bring the total for the first seven months of the year to eight mt. China’s LNG import bill for July rose 62.07 percent from a year earlier to USD 830.4 million.

Qatar was the largest supplier last month, accounting for around 40 percent of total imports. Qatari cargoes were also the most expensive at USD 20.52 per million Btu (MMBtu). The 255,135 tons shipped from Australia were the cheapest, clocking in at USD 4.55/MMBtu.

China has five working LNG terminals. PetroChina Co. Ltd. operates the Rudong and Dalian facilities, while China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) oversees the Dapeng and Putian terminals. China Petrochemical Corp. operates a terminal in the Yangshan Deepwater Port off the coast of Shanghai.

High priced Qatari and spot LNG cargoes have affected trucked LNG margins at PetroChina and CNOOC’s terminals since January, analyst Ma Hui with Zhuochuang Information told Interfax.

PetroChina’s losses from trucked LNG sales at Rudong and Dalian have increased by nearly 50 percent over the first half of 2012, from RMB 1,700 (USD 267.6) in January to RMB 2,485 (USD 391.1) in June, data from Zhuochuang Information showed.

CNOOC saw trucked LNG profits at Putian and Dapeng in January plunge by roughly two-thirds to RMB 1,671 (USD 263) in June.

China also imported 65,019 tons from Yemen and 57,804 tons from Egypt, according to the GAC’s figures.

Five companies were responsible for importing LNG to China in July. PetroChina International Co. Ltd. and Shanghai LNG Co. Ltd. were the only companies out of the five that imported more in July compared to a year earlier.

PetroChina International’s imports surged 483.6 percent to 342,650 tons, while purchases by Shanghai LNG increased by 42.77 percent to 246,330 tons. Imports by Guangdong Dapeng LNG Co. Ltd., CNOOC Fujian Natural Gas Co. Ltd. and CNOOC Gas & Power Group Co. Ltd. fell on an annual basis.

Dapeng LNG, which operates CNOOC’s Dapeng terminal, was the smallest buyer in July on 193,967 tons, down by 40.01 percent year-on-year.

CNOOC Fujian Gas’s imports fell by 17.95 percent to 242,693 tons, while CNOOC Gas & Power imported 305,714 tons of LNG in July, down by 7.86 percent year-on-year.