Natural gas imports into China reached an all-time high in December as the country fought a cold spell amid efforts to reduce its dependence on coal and replace it with gas. At 7.89 million tons —including pipeline flows and LNG shipments—the December figure beat the previous record, booked in November, by 20 percent. This record-high import rate makes for a fitting end to a year that saw natural gas imports into the country soar by 27 percent annually to 68.57 million tons. It seems Beijing’s drive to reduce coal consumption and increase gas consumption was a bit hurried: winter hit northern China hard and led to gas shortages in certain regions, sending domestic LNG prices to a three-year high despite the global glut. That’s because there are infrastructure challenges to LNG and natural gas supply to China, CNBC noted in a story from early December. The problem is the […]