SunSirs: Middle East Crisis Pushes Asian LNG Imports to 6-Year Low

Beijing, April 14 (Xinhua Finance): The import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Asian region has plummeted due to the situation in the Middle East, reaching the lowest level in nearly six years. The United States and Iran failed to reach a deal after negotiations in Pakistan over the weekend, raising concerns that Asia may face a longer period of LNG supply shortages.

As of the latest weekend, the net outflow of liquefied natural gas shipments to Asia, as summarized by Bloomberg on the 13th, has dropped below 6 million tons in the 30-day moving average, reaching the lowest level since June 2020.

Data shows that Pakistan has not received any liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar since the beginning of March, a South Asian country that is highly dependent on imported LNG. Qatar is one of the top three exporters of LNG in the world, and its LNG export capacity has severely declined after its energy facilities were attacked in March. Another major buyer of LNG, India, has seen its 30-day average import volume decline by about 20% year-on-year, and the LNG import volumes in South Korea and Japan have also dropped to the lowest levels in the same period in the past six years.

By 2025, nearly 90 percent of the liquefied natural gas transported through the Strait of Hormuz will be destined for Asian countries.

Since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28th, the shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has been severely affected, and the import of liquefied natural gas in Asian countries has significantly decreased. Some countries are taking measures such as reducing consumption and finding alternative energy sources to cope with the situation. Some gas-fired power plants in Japan have reduced their electricity generation, and South Korea has lifted restrictions on coal-fired power plants to reduce the consumption of liquefied natural gas.