LNG market set for Thai demand surprise

Could the sudden jump in energy demand from Thailand make it the surprise LNG buyer this year?

Thailand is sitting on a newly commissioned, barely utilised LNG-import terminal and may be in the market for nearly 40 cargoes after forecasting increased natural gas consumption in 2012 to rebuild after last year’s flooding. Forecasts from the Thai energy ministry see the country’s overall energy demand for 2012 rising by almost 5% over 2011, to 1.94 million barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d). The government predicts gas consumption will increase by 7.4%, to 51.4 billion cubic metres (cm). This forecast was based on the economy growing by 4.5-5.5% in 2012, and included extra government spending to repair businesses after last year’s devastating floods, which took hundreds of lives and