Alternative LNG Markets Needed: Pavilion Energy
Alternative, new markets for LNG need to be developed to support the growth of the fuel in the current low price, oversupplied world, the CEO of Singapore-based supplier Pavilion Energy Seah Moon Ming, told the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo.
“While the spotlight has been on growing Asian demand, we need to look beyond traditional LNG spaces to emerging new gas markets,” he said.
LNG as ship fuel is one such area. Seah argued, given the recent ruling by the International Maritime Organisation to impose a worldwide sulphur cap of 0.5% (from the current 3.5% global limit) on fuels used by shipping starting 2020, LNG as marine fuel offers significant opportunity.
Increased consumption of LNG as ship fuel and greater use of gas in trucking is expected to push demand to 50mn mt/yr by 2020, he forecast, growing to reach 100mn mt/yr by 2030, in the transportation sector. Another promising business, he said, is small-scale LNG in southeast Asia as the region is home to many small, remote islands that require power.
Seah Moon Ming, Group CEO, Pavilion Energy speaking at LNG Producer-Consumer Conference (Credit: Pavilion Energy)
In addition to creating new markets, greater cooperation in the region for LNG trades in Asia offers second area of opportunity. “We envisage a scenario where LNG trade flows within Asia are supported by several hubs within the region,” he said.
The third area of of opportunity, he suggested, was development of LNG eco-systems that could help realise the full potential of LNG. “There is a clear need to shift our thinking away from just supply-demand dynamics, but towards investing ahead for a clean and sustainable future. We can start by not thinking of emerging countries that are in need of energy as 'demand centres' or 'LNG sinks'.”
The focus should be on developing LNG solutions including transportation, marine fuel and building LNG ecosystems, he said, as these ecosystems can be introduced into emerging markets as a turn-key solution for supplying LNG as well as generating and distributing electricity to emerging markets.
Shardul Sharma