South Korea is dependent on Australia and Qatar for its LNG supply
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
14 April 2026
The GECF has warned it may revise its projections for demand this year downwards in light of conflict in the Middle East, although it maintains its forecasts for 2027 and onwards
13 April 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis highlights sharp shift from crude oversupply to market deficit, with Iraq and Kuwait badly affected and key producers Saudi Arabia and the UAE also seeing output sharply lower
13 April 2026
Turkmenistan is moving ahead with a modest expansion of the giant Galkynysh field to sustain gas deliveries abroad, but persistent delays to other key pipeline projects and geopolitical risks continue to constrain its export ambitions
13 April 2026
Expensive electricity has forced out swathes of energy-intensive industry and now threatens the country’s ability to attract future investment in datacentres and the digital economy
