On declining LNG demand for power generation, South Korean state-owned Korea Gas Corporation's LNG imports decreased 12.4 percent for the first nine months of 2019.
Compared with 27.774 million mt in the same period in 2018, the state utility imported 24.324 million mt over January-September. Down 4 percent from 7.634 million mt in the year-earlier period, Q3 imports hit 7.329 million mt.
In Q1, the company's LNG imports plunged 23.1 percent year-on-year to 9.245 million mt. Since Q4 of 2017, this was the first quarterly decline. Its Q2 LNG sales fell 17.1 percent year-on-year to 7.75 million mt.
In 2018, Kogas' LNG imports jumped 15.4 percent to 38.17 million mt on the back of President Moon Jae-in's push toward raising LNG consumption to reduce heavy reliance on coal and nuclear energy in electricity generation.
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