BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 6. Global pipeline natural gas (PNG) imports increased 2% year-on-year in the first seven months of 2025, reaching 357 billion cubic metres (bcm), says the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Trend reports.
Growth was driven mainly by higher flows within North America, offsetting declines in Europe, while Russia and Canada were the main contributors to export growth. Norway recorded the largest year-on-year drop.
China continued to drive demand in Asia, importing 7.1 bcm of PNG in June — up 9% compared with the same month in 2024 and marking the fourteenth consecutive month of year-on-year growth. PNG accounted for roughly half of China’s total gas imports alongside LNG, with cumulative PNG imports reaching 40 bcm in H1 2025, a 10% increase year-on-year.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore imported 0.52 bcm of PNG from Indonesia and Malaysia in May, up 13% year-on-year but slightly lower than April. Total PNG imports for the first five months reached 2.7 bcm. Thailand’s PNG imports from Myanmar in May were estimated at 0.35 bcm — down 25% year-on-year but up 57% month-on-month — leaving total imports after five months at 1.8 bcm, a 21% decline from 2024.
