Thailand’s LNG imports rise to record high in June

Market: Natural gas
21/08/23

Thailand's LNG imports in June rose to a new record high, with the last record high in April, as lower spot prices encouraged domestic importers to take more volumes.

Thailand imported 1.41mn t of LNG in June, 359,439t or 34pc higher than in May. This was almost triple that of the 460,629t imported in June 2022, according to the country's customs data.

Thailand received 404,377t from top supplier Australia, close to double of its receipts of 208,355t of Australian volumes in May. Qatar's imports into the country followed closely behind at 326,523t, up by 76pc in May. The country also received 75,850t from Algeria, after a 11-month hiatus since July 2022, mostly offsetting the 23pc month-on-month drop or 76,755t from Malaysia to 251,014t in July.

Thailand also received their second shipment of 70,507t from Mozambique. The country's first import from Mozambique was in April.

Thailand paid an average of $11.804/mn Btu for its LNG supplies in June, about 4.9pc lower than what it paid in May at $12.41/mn Btu and 28pc lower than the $16.36/mn Btu it paid in June 2022. Imports from Algeria were the costliest at $14.759/mn Btu. Supplies from Singapore were the lowest priced, averaging at $9.353/mn Btu. Volumes from Australia were at $11.566/mn Btu, 3pc lower than its price in May.

Softening spot prices may have spurred the country to import more LNG cargoes, as the country has issued about an average of 2-3 tenders/month over the first half of the year. Thailand may have imported several spot cargoes for deliveries in June through as many as five tenders issued between February-May. This includes state-controlled firm PTT's tender, which may have awarded a June-delivery cargo at around $12.40-12.69/mn Btu, through its tender which closed on 12 April. The firm was seeking deliveries over 28-29 May, 19-20, 27-28 June, 1-2, 24-25 July, 4-6 August and 25-29 September.

The ANEA price, the Argus assessment for spot LNG deliveries to northeast Asia, averaged at $12.105/mn Btu for first-half June deliveries and $11.087/mn Btu for second-half June deliveries this year, significantly lower than $28.899/mn Btu and $25.289/mn Btu for the same periods a year earlier.

By Naomi Ong

Thailand's LNG Imports			t
Country	Jun '23	May '23	Jun '22

Australia	404,377	208,355	69,023
Qatar	326,523	185,532	92,085
Malaysia	251,014	327,769	173,961
Singapore	129,911	0	0
US	79,512	79,186	0
Algeria	75,850	0	0
Mozambique	70,507	0	0
Indonesia	69,190	55,405	0
Oman	0	191,199	63,572
Nigeria	0	0	61,987
Source: Thailand's customs

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