An estimate that China’s underground gas storage was 80% full by late September points to flexibility in winter LNG buying, while low terminal stocks could still support import demand.
China publishes no national gas-stock total. The 80% reading describes the share of underground capacity in use; it does not reveal exportable volumes or how long stored gas could sustain domestic consumption.
A separate pressure may come from LNG import terminals. If suppliers choose to restore those tanks to capacity, restocking could require about 2 million tons. That figure describes a possible need, not a confirmed order.
The two signals point in different directions: a smaller Chinese appetite for spot cargoes could reduce import demand, while terminal replenishment could add to it. Spot LNG cargoes are bought for near-term delivery, so a change in China’s purchases could affect what is available to other buyers. China has led global LNG imports since 2021, apart from 2022.
Other importers could have more cargoes available if Chinese spot buying falls, but the estimate alone does not establish that purchases will decline or shipments will be freed up. LNG flows from the Persian Gulf were about 80% below their level a year earlier, and European gas had reached its highest price since December 2022. Asian and European buyers were still competing for available shipments.
Stored gas across the European Union totaled 837.84 terawatt-hours, equal to 74.1% of capacity, at midnight ET (0400 UTC) Oct. 16. Underground storage and LNG terminal inventories track different parts of China’s gas supply, so the underground fill estimate does not resolve whether terminals will need replenishment.
