Asia-Pacific LNG demand to near double by 2015 says report

Asia-Pacific demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) will almost double to 150 million tonnes by 2015 with a large portion expected to be uncontracted, Australia's peak commodity forecaster said today.

" ... there could be up to 76 million tonnes of uncontracted LNG demand in the region in 2015, assuming no further contracts are signed or renewed," said Vivek Tulpule, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (Abare) acting executive director.

The largest currently uncontracted demand is in Japan, Korea and China, he said.

Abare, due to release a report on the outlook for LNG in the region on Monday, projects LNG demand to rise to 119 million tonnes by 2010 and 150 million tonnes by 2015 from 83 million tonnes in 2003.

LNG - gas which is supercooled into liquid form for transport by tanker - accounts for six per cent of the world's gas consumption but world production is set to soar with US appetite for gas and energy-hungry China driving the boom.

Abare said Asia-Pacific LNG demand would come from the region's three established markets - Japan, South Korea and Taiwan - with strong growth expected from the emerging markets of China and India and the north American west coast.

"Australia is one of the largest potential suppliers of LNG to the Asia-Pacific region with several proposed projects over the coming decade that could more than quadruple Australian LNG export capacity from its present 11.7 million tonnes," Tulpule said.

But he said Australia would face strong competition from Indonesia, Russia and the Middle East to secure LNG markets in this timeframe.

- REUTERS