Developing a pricing benchmark for Asian LNG

THE emergence of natural gas as a primary fuel source is a key feature of the evolving global energy mix. While there has been significant investment in pipeline infrastructure throughout Europe and North America, this has not been the case in the Asia-Pacific basin, where energy demand is geographically diverse and, in many cases, islanded.

The Asia-Pacific has notably become a powerhouse of global economic growth; its contribution to world GDP rose from 30 per cent to 40 per cent between 2000 and 2014.

In order to continue fuelling this growth, a significant and growing reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a clean energy source has emerged in the Asia-Pacific, which accounts for three-quarters of global demand. The size of the LNG market stood at 250 million tonnes last year; within the next two decades, that figure is projected to rise to 400 million tonnes, creating vast opportunities for Singapore, a country strategically placed along in the centre of key LNG shipping routes.