LNG exports up 5.5% in 2016 to 264 Mt

Provisional data put LNG supply up 5.5% in 2016 at 264 million tonnes. Most of the growth came from a big increase in Australian output and the start-up of LNG exports from the US Gulf. The most significant production declines in 2016 were from Nigeria and Trinidad. Yemen remained offline all year but both Angola and Egypt resumed exporting in 2016. China spectacularly returned to growth in 2016 with imports up by over 30%. India took advantage of lower LNG prices to lift imports by 25%. Floating terminal technology continues to aid new markets to join the LNG club with Colombia, Jamaica and Malta importing for the first time in 2016. LNG imported via FSRUs increased 32% in 2016 to capture 11% of the total market. Japan and South Korea saw further year-on-year declines in demand, but the biggest fall came from the UK with 2016 imports down 20%. The related Excel download contains provisional estimates for all large-scale LNG importing and exporting countries in 2016.