South Korea coal shutdown offers winter LNG demand boost

Gwangyang LNG terminal in South Korea. (Gazprom)

The government of South Korea has confirmed it will mothball up to one-quarter of its coal-fired power stations – the bedrock of the country’s electricity supply – in an effort to control air pollution this winter. The shutdown is likely to boost Korean gas demand considerably and offer some support for incremental LNG imports.

The Korean government will idle 8-15 coal power plants from the start of December to the end of February, while the utilisation of the remaining facilities will be capped at 80% depending...