Asia's Gas Market Set to Become World's Second Largest by 2015

Asia’s natural gas market is projected to become the second-largest gas market by 2015 - after the United States - with an annual gas demand of 790 bcm, writes World Review author Frank Umbach from the Centre for European Security Strategies, Germany.

Its regional share of global demand for natural gas increased from 13 per cent to 19 per cent during the last decade. “Regional gas consumption may even nearly double, widening the gap between regional demand and supply, and resulting in a continued rise of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and pipeline-gas imports,” he says in the report.

The US will remain the largest single gas consuming country in the world with a gas demand 50 per cent higher than China's in 2035.

China became a LNG importer in 2006 and was originally dependent on Australian LNG for more than 80 per cent of its imports. Australia remains China's largest source for LNG. China has also expanded its pipeline gas imports from Turkmenistan and Myanmar in contrast to other major LNG importers in Asia.

Russia, facing a stagnating or even decreasing gas demand in Europe, is looking to increase its gas exports to the Asia-Pacific.

Asian energy companies have recently developed a vision of an interconnected Asian gas market with new pipeline infrastructure from Russia's Far East, a China-Taiwan pipeline and LNG hubs in Singapore, China, South Korea and Japan.

“But a competitive natural gas market in Asia depends on a much more flexible LNG supply with further expansion in shipping, new pipeline networks, a granted third-party access to regasification terminals and effective independent regulatory authorities in the Asia-Pacific region,” writes Umbach.