China imports less spot LNG.

Byline: BEIJING/SINGAPORE:

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China imported just one cargo of liquefied natural gas on the spot market in August, two fewer than a month ago, China's customs data showed.

China paid $14.60 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) for an LNG cargo from Equatorial Guinea, Reuters calculations showed, the second cargo it bought this year from Equatorial Guinea and bringing the total number of spot cargoes this year to 10. China may have received the cargo already in late July, but too late to be included in customs data, which would mean it stayed absent from the spot market for August, a source said. For July, China bought three spot cargoes, from Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria, paying a hefty price above $15 per mmBtu. Earlier this month, Guandong Dapeng LNG, the sole LNG operator in China, said it may not purchase more spot LNG cargoes this year after paying a record price above $20 per mmBtu for a recent spot from Africa, to arrive later in September. China, the world's second biggest consumer of energy, had said previously it may double its spot purchases to around 14 cargoes this year. It plans to build a slew of LNG terminals along the east coast to boost the use of LNG in generating electricity.

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