China-Africa: China Buys Algerian LNG Cargo at Record Price to Boost Supplies
China bought an individual liquefied natural gas cargo from Algeria last month at a record price to supplement contractual supplies from Australia.
China paid $20.43 per million British thermal units for the cargo, the second from the North African country this year, according to Bloomberg calculations based on customs figures released in Beijing today. That exceeds the previous record $15.46 China paid Nigeria in July and compares with $3.15 for LNG bought from Australia under long-term contract.
Prices of LNG in the spot market have increased sevenfold in the past five years to as much as $25 per million British thermal units. Prices have retreated from a peak reached in the middle of this year because of a cooler summer weather and high inventories in Japan and South Korea.
LNG is natural gas chilled to liquid form, reducing it to one-six-hundredth of its original volume at minus 161 degrees Celsius (minus 258 degrees Fahrenheit) for transportation by ships to destinations not connected by pipeline.
By Wang Ying and Winnie Zhu
(Bloomberg)