LNG imports into Taiwan – long the world’s third largest buyer but overtaken by China and India in recent years – jumped by almost 11% year-on-year to 4.33mn tons in Q3 2016 on the back of reduced nuclear generation. Higher summer demand for air conditioning combined with a power generation deficit has pushed up overall LNG imports over January-September to 11.13mn tons. Longer term, Taiwan’s LNG consumption could rise further as the government pledged to phase out nuclear power generation by 2025.
Three of the country’s six nuclear reactors are currently offline, boosting demand for gas-fuelled power generation. One 600MW reactor at Chinshan has been out of action since the end of 2014 due to technical problems. But the government’s anti-nuclear policy means it is unlikely to come back online with the plant approaching the end of its life in 2018. (CONTINUED - 733 WORDS)
