ExxonMobil tempers LNG liquidity expectations

Major sees LNG market evolution, but cautions that hopes of a facsimile of oil or pipeline gas markets may be disappointed

ExxonMobil predicts further changes in the LNG market as contract lengths get shorter and some buyers seek to introduce alternative price references into their supply agreements. But assumptions that LNG will move swiftly to a market where spot trade dominates and where all buyers abandon oil-indexed pricing may be wide of the mark, the firm’s vice-president for global LNG marketing Alex Volkov told Petroleum Economist at September’s Gastech conference in Houston. What do you see are the implications for the more liquid and global LNG market that has developed over the last couple of years in particular? Volkov: That is a great question. There is a lot of talk in the industry about the chang