First US LNG Cargo Arrives in China After Tariffs Enacted

Aliquefied natural gas cargo from the United States has arrived in China, the first such cargo since Beijing imposed a tariff on US imports, shipping data from Refinitiv Eikon showed on Monday.

China, the second-biggest importer of LNG globally after Japan, announced in September a 10% tariff on US LNG imports as part of an escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, S&P Global Platts reported.

Since the tariffs were announced, Chinese companies have largely been diverting US shipments to other countries, trade sources said.

This is the first US LNG cargo to be shipped to China since Sept. 10, the Eikon shipping data showed. The cargo was shipped on tanker Ribera Duero Knutsen from the Sabine Pass terminal operated by Cheniere Energy.

It arrived at the Zhejiang Ningbo LNG terminal in China on Nov. 11 and is now discharging, the data showed. The terminal on China’s east coast is majority owned by the state China National Offshore Oil Corp.

“There are too many cargoes from US, you can divert maybe 3 or 4 (but not all),” said a trader familiar with the Chinese market.

Total US LNG export capacity is expected to jump to 5.2 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2018, 8.9 bcfd by the end of 2019 and 10.3 bcfd by the end of 2020, from about 3.8 bcfd now. This would make the United States the world’s third-biggest LNG exporter by capacity in 2019.

source: Financial Tribune