Asian LNG demand sees ‘retracement’ not ‘destruction’

The impact of high prices should be only a temporary phenomenon

The LNG-to-power sector needs affordable LNG and flexible supply terms to thrive, panellists agreed at Petroleum Economist’s LNG to Power Forum Apac. But prices are likely to remain high and the market is increasingly reverting back to longer-term contracts. Nevertheless, the current strength of LNG prices is causing “demand retracement” in Asia, rather than “demand destruction”, says Ciaran Roe, global director for LNG at information provider S&P Global Commodity Insights, who suggests that regional LNG demand could pick up again when prices ease. But Roe also agrees that rebounding coal use in China and India is—at least temporarily—a threat to LNG demand, particularly as those two cou