Asia Facing 43 Million-Ton LNG Shortage by 2015

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Yves Cerf-Mayer, Vice President for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Marketing of Total Trading International in northeastern Asia, has said that even if all of Asia's existing agreements for LNG materialize into confirmed sales contracts, it will still face a shortage of 43 million tons by 2015.

Cerf-Mayer said that in the past two years, not enough investment decisions on LNG projects in Asia have been made to meet the increasing demand for LNG in Asia from 2010 to 2015. The projected demand in Asia will increase by 6% in this period. Demand in China alone will likely be 25%.

For Asian LNG consumers, between 2013 and 2014, the most likely source of LNG imports will be from Australia and Papua New Guinea. Australia will account for 60% of Asia Pacific's potential new LNG capacity in the next 10 years.

Labor shortages and tight supplies of LNG production equipment pose potential long-term threats to the progress and budgets of LNG projects. Since 2000, the cost of LNG projects has gone up almost threefold. The increase is likely to continue. LNG projects in Australia, Algeria, Iran and Nigeria are all in danger of being delayed.

Australian Woodside's Pluto LNG project and the LNG project in Angola are the only ones to have received final investment confirmation in 2007. The Peru LNG at Pampa Melchorita is the only project that received approval in 2006.

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