America’s Shale Gas Is Headed to China for the Second Time

China is on the verge of receiving its second shipment of shale gas from the U.S.

The Methane Julia Louise has signaled it’s bound for Ningbo, a port city on China’s eastern coast, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. Earlier this month, the liquefied natural gas tanker owned by Mitsui & Co. arrived at Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Sabine Pass terminal, according to the data.

The delivery would come on top of a cargo sent to Shenzhen in July from the export terminal in Louisiana, which shipped its first cargo in February. Chinese LNG imports are up by almost a fifth in the first three quarters from a year earlier, according to Timera Energy.

“China’s LNG imports have been growing this year,” Leslie Palti-Guzman, director of global gas for Bethesda, Maryland-based Rapidan Group LLC, said by phone Friday. “There is a demand response to lower prices but there’s also a ramp up of contractual arrangements.”

The U.S. is set to export a record number of cargoes of gas this month amid booming supplies from prolific shale reserves. Nine LNG tankers have departed or are scheduled to leave Sabine Pass, the most for any month since exports began.

A call and e-mail seeking comment from Cheniere weren’t immediately returned. Mitsui wasn’t immediately available to provide comment.