China is the single most important growth market for liquefied natural gas (LNG). At the margins of LNG trade five years ago, government policy to improve air quality sparked a dash for gas. China has accounted for 40% of the global growth in LNG demand since 2015. Imports will exceed 82 million tonnes per annum (tpa) in three years time, when China will overtake Japan as the world’s biggest buyer.
Coronavirus (covid-19) is one of the “unknown unknowns” which can shatter expected trends in energy markets. I asked Robert Sims, Director Short Term LNG analysis, for his team’s view of the impact on the global LNG market.
