LNG crucial for South Korea despite nuclear focus
Liquefied gas may lose market share to nuclear in South Korea, but demand could still be robust
South Korea is the world’s third-largest LNG importer, behind China and Japan. The country takes in c.46mn t/yr of the fuel, more than 10pc of the global market, making it a key consumer in a sector that has only grown in importance since the start of the Ukraine war and the emergence of Europe as a competing demand hub. And despite Seoul’s renewed embrace of nuclear power and plans to trim its dependence on imported gas, South Korea’s LNG intake is unlikely to have peaked, analysts suggest. The government of President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to build new nuclear power plants, in a significant departure from the previous administration of Moon Jae-in, who halted nuclear projects and talked about
Also in this section
17 January 2025
Supply glut or supply deficit are both plausible outlooks, with tariffs and sanctions among the key risks that could swing the pendulum
17 January 2025
European Commission is on its way to meeting clean energy goals, but energy security concerns and higher costs may give it second thoughts
17 January 2025
The CEO of QatarEnergy has highlighted the potential impact a new EU directive could have on energy exports to the continent
16 January 2025
The government’s resource nationalism is aggravating the NOC’s debt position and could yet worsen if also tasked with the decarbonisation shift