China imported 2 million mt of natural gas via pipelines in October, up 8.8% from a year earlier, data released Saturday, November 22, by the country's General Administration of Customs showed.
China's customs department reports natural gas trade data in metric tons, similar to LNG imports. The October inflow works out to about 2.75 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas, a 0.9% increase from September. Despite the overall increase, China's gas imports from Turkmenistan in October fell 20.8% year on year and 23.7% month on month to 1.29 million mt, while imports from Uzbekistan jumped 34.9% year on year to 240,379 mt.
China's gas imports from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are transported through the Central Asia-China gas pipeline network that links with state-owned China National Petroleum Corp.'s Second West-East Pipeline in western Xinjiang province at the border with Kazakhstan.
Chinese gas pipeline imports from Kazakhstan, which totaled 23,493 mt during October, are transported through a cross-border pipeline that is owned and operated by private company Xinjiang Guanghui Energy.
Pipeline imports from Myanmar in October totaled 437,993 mt, versus zero in October last year as well as in September this year.
Over the first 10 months of this year, China's total gas pipeline imports rose 14.6% year on year to 16.79 million mt, or 23.17 Bcm, the data showed.
The growth rate, however, pales in comparison to the 30.3% jump seen during January-October 2013.
Turkmen gas deliveries to China over January-October climbed 5.5% year on year to 15.5 million mt, or an average 2.1 Bcm/month.
At this rate, total sales this year would likely be under 30 Bcm, which is the annual volume agreed between state-owned companies Turkmengaz and China National Petroleum Corp. in a sales and purchase deal struck in 2007. The two companies since then have agreed to boost China's imports of Turkmen gas to 40 Bcm/year by 2015 and 65 Bcm/year by 2020. SLOWING APPARENT GAS DEMAND GROWTH
Taking into account LNG imports, which increased 1.8% year on year in October to 1.38 million mt, China's total gas imports during the month were 3.38 million mt, up 5.9% from the same period last year.
Total gas exports to Hong Kong and Macau were 0.28 Bcm last month, while domestic production rose 8.3% to 10.31 Bcm, according to the data.
This means China's apparent gas demand -- domestic production plus net imports -- for October totaled 14.69 Bcm, up 7.1% from the same month last year, according to Platts calculations.
China has now moved into peak gas demand season as heating cranks up in winter. However, domestic gas price hikes in the last two years could have an impact on demand growth.
"While gas demand remains strong in residences and automobiles, cost pressures are increasing on gas-fired power plants and industries. The coming winter will test those gas-based heating cities in northern China," Beijing-based energy consultancy 3E noted in its October China Gas Monthly report.
It added that year-on-year gas demand growth has moderated and will stay just below 10%.
Over January-October, China's LNG imports were 13.1% higher than a year ago, at 16.12 million mt, bringing total gas and LNG imports to 34.9 million mt, or 48.17 Bcm, a 13.6% jump year on year.
Adding domestic production of 101.28 Bcm and discounting exports of 2.2 Bcm, China's year-to-date apparent demand for gas totaled 147.25 Bcm, rising 9.1% from the same period last year, according to Platts calculations.
Growth has slowed from 2013, when apparent gas demand expanded by 14.5% between January and October.
