Asian buyers drive growth in global LNG demand

MUSCAT: Growing demand from Asia, and particularly from China, will underpin market growth for liquefied natural gas (LNG), said leading industry figures at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), but importers are also pushing to benefit from more flexible pricing.

Speaking on the sidelines of ADIPEC, Cheniere Energy Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Anatol Feygin, said Asia accounts for 70 per cent of global LNG imports. He predicts China, which first imported LNG in 2006, will become the largest importer after Japan “within a year or two” as the market continues to expand.

“It has been growing at around 2.5 million tonnes per annum on average over the past decade,” said Feygin.

“We see that growth rate increasing, possibly more than doubling, over the next three to five years and probably well beyond that, as China’s economy continues to grow, as it continues to urbanise, and as it aims to improve urban air quality and control carbon emissions.”

Cheniere is a Texas-based energy company, primarily involved in LNG-related businesses. Feygin is among the gas industry leaders speaking in an exclusive series of C-suite dialogues for senior decision makers at ADIPEC, sharing his insights into the future for natural gas and LNG in a low carbon, low cost landscape.

This landscape sees growing demand for clean-burning natural gas, and LNG providing a flexible way of being matching that demand with competitive new sources of supply. It also sees the United States transforming into an important energy exporter.

“The global gas and LNG markets have been going through an enormous transformation,” said Feygin. Full story @ timesofoman.com/business