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The global glut of LNG
THE LNG business has changed drastically in the past two years. In mid-2008, as oil prices rose towards $150 a barrel, Linda Cook, then head of gas and power at Shell, told Petroleum Economist that anxious LNG buyers were snapping up volumes previously considered flexible (PE 7/08 p17). Such was the strength of demand that LNG buyers that failed to lock in supplies under long-term contracts risked being caught short, she said. Consumption, Shell predicted, would grow at 8% a year. And, with few final investment decisions being taken on liquefaction projects, there was a risk that supply would struggle to keep up with demand. Cook seemed to be loving it. But the recession trashed those assumptions. LNG consumption fell last year – in Japan, the biggest LNG market, by almost 10% in ...Click here to continue reading The global glut of LNG
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