Taiwan’s Jan. LNG imports rise 12 percent

CPC Corp. imported 1.29 million kiloliters, or 585,000 metric tons, of the fuel for US$396.8 million last month, compared with 1.15 million kiloliters for US$259.9 million a year earlier, the energy bureau said in an e-mailed statement today. The state-owned company is Taiwan’s only LNG importer.

The island imports more than 95 percent of its natural gas needs. LNG prices climbed last year after the closure of the world’s biggest nuclear power plant in Japan resulted in a surge in demand for the fuel by Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the atomic station.

CPC paid a record US$679.20 a ton, or US$13 per million British thermal units, since imports began in 1990, the energy bureau said. Shipments in January are the lowest since February 2007.

Purchases from Indonesia climbed 34 percent to 673,300 kiloliters last month, while Malaysian supplies declined 3 percent to 364,500 kiloliters from a year earlier, according to government data. CPC bought 128,700 kiloliters from Algeria and 122,800 kiloliters from Nigeria in January, compared with none a year earlier.

Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas imports in 2007 rose 6.8 percent to a record 18.14 million kiloliters, the energy bureau said on Jan. 28. The island spent US$4.28 billion last year, more than the US$3.68 billion for 16.99 million kiloliters in 2006.

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