LNG imports expected to surge

China, already the third-largest LNG buyer worldwide after South Korea and Japan, is about to become an even bigger player in the market as the country's demand for natural gas continues rising sharply.

S&P Global Platts Analytics forecasts that China - which is increasingly replacing coal with cleaner burning gas to reduce air pollution - will rival South Korea to become the world's second-largest LNG importer by the end of this year, and that it will far surpass South Korea in 2018.

China's LNG imports are forecast at nearly 50 million metric tons next year, whereas South Korean LNG demand will remain at less than 40 million tons, according to Marc Howson, director of the LNG market of S&P Global Platts.