ShareLNG trade in 2013
Preliminary figures show that 2013 was, like 2012, a year of stagnation in terms of LNG trade growth.
Preliminary figures show that 2013 was, like 2012, was a year of stagnation in terms of LNG trade growth.
Although 2 new liquefaction plants came on stream, in Angola and Algeria, output from several existing facilities slumped.
Also, worldwide movements of LNG in 2013 dropped a few percentage points from the 236.8 million tonnes traded the previous year.
For a shipping market that enjoyed an average growth rate of 10% per annum over the first decade of the new century, to experience a two-year-running slump is unprecedented. For example, the trade contraction recorded in 2012 was the first in three decades.
The LNG sector is experiencing a momentary blip on the growth chart and service as normal is about to be resumed. As a result of construction work currently underway or poised to start, 12 new liquefaction plants will be on stream by 2018, boosting global LNG production capacity by one-third. Several other proposed projects are nearing final investment decisions and most forecasters believe that the worldwide trade in LNG will be double the current level by 2035.
Asia, currently the destination for 70% of all LNG shipped worldwide, will continue to drive market demand in the years ahead. Japan accounts for 38% of the global LNG trade and is set to remain the leading importer for many years to come, even after the country begins to restart its nuclear reactors following the completion of rigorous post-tsunami safety checks.
Korea, the second largest buyer of LNG, expects its 2013 imports to be around the 40 million tonnes mark, following a 10% rise in demand during the year.
Korea’s neighbour China could be in the running for the No. 2 slot in the LNG importers league table within the next few years as a result of an even stronger increase in demand. The commissioning of three new regasification terminals in recent months has boosted to nine the number of such facilities in China. When the final figures are tallied, the country, which only began to import LNG in 2006, is expected to have purchased approximately 17 million tonnes in 2013.
On the LNG supply side the largest contributor to LNG trade growth over the next five years will be Australia. Seven new liquefaction projects are currently underway in the country and the first LNG from this new tranche of production capacity will begin to flow in 2014. When all the new terminals are working to full capacity later in the decade, they will be able to supply the world market with 65 million tonnes each year.
Source: BIMCO
Although 2 new liquefaction plants came on stream, in Angola and Algeria, output from several existing facilities slumped.
Also, worldwide movements of LNG in 2013 dropped a few percentage points from the 236.8 million tonnes traded the previous year.
For a shipping market that enjoyed an average growth rate of 10% per annum over the first decade of the new century, to experience a two-year-running slump is unprecedented. For example, the trade contraction recorded in 2012 was the first in three decades.
The LNG sector is experiencing a momentary blip on the growth chart and service as normal is about to be resumed. As a result of construction work currently underway or poised to start, 12 new liquefaction plants will be on stream by 2018, boosting global LNG production capacity by one-third. Several other proposed projects are nearing final investment decisions and most forecasters believe that the worldwide trade in LNG will be double the current level by 2035.
Asia, currently the destination for 70% of all LNG shipped worldwide, will continue to drive market demand in the years ahead. Japan accounts for 38% of the global LNG trade and is set to remain the leading importer for many years to come, even after the country begins to restart its nuclear reactors following the completion of rigorous post-tsunami safety checks.
Korea, the second largest buyer of LNG, expects its 2013 imports to be around the 40 million tonnes mark, following a 10% rise in demand during the year.
Korea’s neighbour China could be in the running for the No. 2 slot in the LNG importers league table within the next few years as a result of an even stronger increase in demand. The commissioning of three new regasification terminals in recent months has boosted to nine the number of such facilities in China. When the final figures are tallied, the country, which only began to import LNG in 2006, is expected to have purchased approximately 17 million tonnes in 2013.
On the LNG supply side the largest contributor to LNG trade growth over the next five years will be Australia. Seven new liquefaction projects are currently underway in the country and the first LNG from this new tranche of production capacity will begin to flow in 2014. When all the new terminals are working to full capacity later in the decade, they will be able to supply the world market with 65 million tonnes each year.
Source: BIMCO