Asia Pacific: Storage

South Korea ended the peak winter demand period with low levels of gas in stock, supporting a rise in LNG imports.

South Korea had around 2 billion cubic metres of gas in storage at the start of March. Although this was 3% higher than at the same time last year, it was roughly 32% below the average for the past three years. South Korean LNG imports have risen on an annual basis in recent months and the low levels of gas in storage mean the country will require additional LNG for storage builds. In contrast, Japan’s stocks were strong at the end of the peak winter period. Japan had around 5.8 bcm of gas in stock at the start of March, leaving stocks roughly 2% higher than the average seen over the last three years.