Article - October 2009 Issue

September’s LNG Business Review looked at China’s growing appetite for LNG and the implications for the Pacific Basin market. The expected increase in LNG imports into China is impressive but Japan will remain the largest market in Asia over the next decade with its imports likely to be more than double those of its nearest competitor, which may well be China. Japan has some of the most experienced and creditworthy buyers in the world whose commitment to purchase LNG gives credibility to any project. For sponsors of some of the projects currently at the planning stage, the strength of the Japanese economy and its need for additional LNG imports will be important in determining whether, and when, their projects will be developed. The economic recession has resulted in the largest fall in Japan’s LNG imports since the start-up of the Kenai project in Alaska 40 years ago this month. LNG Business Review looks at LNG demand in Japan, 12 months after the recession first began to have an impact on natural gas demand in both the city gas and the power sectors and asks whether there any signs of a recovery and what hope there is for aspirant LNG suppliers.