OREANDA-NEWS.  November 12, 2014. China has continued to diversify its LNG sources in 2014. It imported the fuel from 18 countries in Q1-Q3 this year, compared with 13 in 2013, 12 in 2012 and 13 in 2011. Qatar and Australia accounted for 55% of total volumes. Qatari monthly volumes have dropped sharply since a record 1.27 mt in January, falling to around 400,000-500,000 tons. Australia eclipsed Qatar as the biggest exporter to China in July.

China imported 14.73 mt of LNG in the first nine months of 2014, an increase of 14.32% from 12.88 mt last year. Growth in Q1 was the strongest, with volumes rising by more than a third, but the growth rate collapsed to 3.2% in Q2 and 5.6% in Q3. China imported less LNG in April than a year ago – the first annual fall since November 2012. August and September imports also shrank from 2013.

Chinese pipeline imports were on average 20% cheaper than LNG imports during Q1-Q3, coming in at USD9.79/MMBtu compared with USD 11.71/MMBtu. Average pipeline prices have fallen from a high of USD 10.82/MMBtu in March to hover at around USD 9.4/MMBtu, while average LNG prices have ranged from USD 13.42/MMBtu to USD 10.37/MMBtu.