LNG in Ulsan and hydrogen that still depends on gas

Ulsan Customs reported on 18 August 2026 that LNG imports through the port went from none up to 2023 to 420,000 tonnes in 2024, the year the dedicated terminal started up, 1.53 million tonnes in 2025 and 1.1 million tonnes in the first seven months of 2026. The agency reads the volume as a positive sign for the region's hydrogen economy, with LNG as a transitional energy source.

The missing variable is who holds the volume if the transition premise does not hold. The IEA report Gas 2025 records that contracts of ten years or longer accounted for 75% of LNG volumes contracted worldwide since 2022, and projects low-emissions gases below 1% of global gaseous fuel supply in 2030.

The purchase commitment runs longer than the hypothesis that justifies it. If demand for hydrogen from natural gas grows less than expected, the contractual obligation stays in place and the cost falls on the buyer or on local industrial tariffs.

The variable that decides the Ulsan case is the contractual allocation of volume risk.