Preliminary data from the Directorate General of Customs shows that the country received 1.94 million tonnes of LNG in May.
This is up by 15.9 percent year-on-year compared to 1.67 million mt in May 2024.
May LNG imports dropped compared to 1.98 million tonnes of LNG in April and 2.08 million tonnes of LNG in March. Still, the imports rose compared to 1.80 million tonnes of LNG in February and 1.48 million tonnes of LNG in January.
Taiwan paid $1.02 billion for LNG imports in May, up from $853.5 million during the same month last year.
The data shows that most of the May LNG supplies came from Qatar (686,691 t) and Australia (564,502 t).
Qatari volumes rose compared to 534,818 t in May 2024, while Australian volumes also rose compared to 427,647 t in May 2024.
Other LNG suppliers to Taiwan in May included the US (197,919 t), Papua New Guinea (157,509 t), Oman (130,832 t), Malaysia (71,181 t), Egypt (65,902 t), and Brunei (64,376 t).
Taiwan received 21.50 million tonnes of LNG during the full year of 2024, up 7.1 percent from 2023.
Last year, Taiwan paid $11.92 billion for LNG imports, down from $12.35 billion in 2023.
CPC’s LNG terminals
Taiwan currently imports LNG via two terminals operated by state-owned CPC.
CPC operates the Yung-An LNG terminal with a capacity of 10.5 mtpa and the Taichung LNG import terminal with a capacity of 6 mtpa. The firm is also expanding its Taichung LNG terminal.
In addition, CPC is also working on the Guantang LNG terminal and the Zhouji LNG terminal.
In April, Methane Rita Andrea’s AIS data provided by VeseselsValue showed that the LNG carrier was located at the Guantang LNG terminal, or Taoyuan LNG terminal.
The vessel delivered a cargo from Qatar to the facility.
Several reports claim that CPC has completed the commissioning of this new facility, which is expected to start operations soon.
In December last year, CPC also received the environmental approval for the intercontinental LNG terminal, or the seventh terminal.
Taiwan’s LNG imports are expected to continue to rise following the closure of the 951 MW Maanshan nuclear unit 2, operated by state-owned Taipower.
Taiwan’s Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) stated in a press release last month that the unit was disconnected from the grid and suspended operations on May 17, following the expiration of its operating license.
