Global imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the world’s major buyers were 28% higher in the first half of 2010 compared with the first half of 2009, a detailed analysis of official international trade statistics by energy economics group, EnergyQuest, has revealed.

The analysis covers LNG imports by North Asian countries (Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan), the European Union (EU) and the United States. These regions comprise around 90% of global LNG imports.

EU LNG imports grew by 68% (10.9 million tonnes) to 26.8 million tonnes (Mt) for the half, while North Asian imports rose by 18% (9.0 Mt) to 60.0 Mt.

However, US imports only grew by 3% to 5.4 Mt, a minor share of the US gas market.

‘The EU imported record volumes of LNG, with the biggest increase coming from the Middle Eastern state of Qatar,’ EnergyQuest Chief Executive Officer, Dr Graeme Bethune, said today.

‘Import growth was particularly strong in the United Kingdom, where North Sea gas production fell by 6.9%. LNG imports more than tripled in the first half, from 2.0 Mt to 6.6 Mt,’ he said.

‘Most of the growth in UK imports was from Qatar, at a bargain average price of just US$4.16 per gigajoule (GJ).

‘Lower prices also appear to have been an important driver of EU LNG imports.

‘The average price being paid by the EU fell from US$9.36/GJ in the 2009 first half to US$6.31/GJ in the recent half. This is about US$3.00/GJ below Russian pipeline gas prices.’

According to the EnergyQuest analysis, the other major growth market in the first half of 2010 was North Asia, where LNG imports grew by 18% (9.0 Mt).

This was driven by higher gas demand. Japan experienced record LNG imports of 34.7 Mt and China’s LNG imports doubled.

‘The biggest increase in imports was from the new Russian Sakhalin project (up by 4.3 Mt), followed by Qatar with growth of 1.4 Mt, and Indonesia’s Tangguh gas field,’ Dr Bethune said.

‘Overall – and unlike the situation in Europe – average North Asian import prices actually increased slightly to US$9.43/GJ,’ he said.

‘However, the biggest growth was in one of the cheapest sources of gas. Average Russian prices were US$6.82/GJ.’