Big gloom, small promise

New Asian LNG demand centres are emerging while the region’s big consumers need less of the fuel

FOR YEARS, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas sellers boasted at industry gatherings about the endless potential for demand growth in Asia. Until recently, LNG’s relatively high price and the commodity’s inflexible trade have been its undoing. The world’s biggest buyers, Japan and South Korea, have taken steps to cut their reliance on the super-cooled fuel, while new pockets of demand failed to materialise elsewhere. Now new demand is emerging – but not enough to offset the shrinking consumption in bigger markets. Asia accounted for about 70% of the 245m tonnes of LNG shipped last year. But demand from the region’s biggest buyers dropped off, including the first-ever decline in shipme