Emerging nations fuel LNG imports

Similarly, LNG capacity additions in Australia are anticipated to make the country a key supplier by 2017. 

Demand, on the other hand, will rise in the Asia-Pacific region, which is seeing strong economic standing. Japan in particular is likely to depend on imports to meet all its LNG needs, while China and India will also prove significant end-user markets. 

This region also expects to become a supplier hub, as several long-term LNG supply contracts are nearing completion.

New analysis by Frost & Sullivan found that the Asia-Pacific market had a supply of 32.42 billion cubic feet per day in 2014 and is estimated this to reach 69.26Bcf/d by 2025. That year, LNG demand from Asia is projected to be 23Bcf/d.

Technological advancement to extract shale gas has gone a long way in narrowing the LNG demand-supply gap, said Rasholeen Nakram a Frost & Sullivan energy and environmental research analyst. Furthermore, because of the surplus gas, there will be considerable revisions in the LNG price structure. It is likely to become a buyers’ market, meaning consumers will hold the bargaining power.

Despite the availability of gas, participants are challenged to reach the market. For example, gas producers in the United States have been hindered by delays in getting LNG export permits. Simultaneously, the new infrastructure capacity in Australia has increased the costs of LNG. Price increases in a market with more than one supplier will be a competitive disadvantage.

To address the voluminous demand from Asia and other regions, countries with surplus gas such as the US and Australia need to work with their respective governments to be open to LNG price negotiations, Nakra said.

Increased funding to make LNG trade possible will translate into new investments to build liquefaction and re-gasification facilities around the world. In addition, several countries are undergoing regulatory policy revision to relax LNG trade.