LNG-A GLOBALISING INDUSTRY. ARE WE THERE YET?

摘要

At LNG 14 in 2004, BG Group spoke of the emergence of the US LNG market and our early experiences in this very important market. Three years on, the industry has developed apace and we are seeing increased talk of a global industry. But is LNG a truly global business yet?rnIn our experience, the answer is probably "yes, and no".rnYes, because we are seeing overlap between previously unconnected markets, both in terms of price signals and volume flows. Previously unlinked markets are now, at times, competing for the same gas. Spot cargo volumes are moving between markets and basins in response to common price signals, in some cases transparent, in other cases not. Increased flexibility is now also being introduced into commercial contracts and business models in order to capture value in this rapidly evolving LNG world.rnNo, because we have yet to see truly global long-term trade flows and in particular we have yet to see the impact that the emergence of the West Coast of the US will have on the industry. We are also still seeing strong regional differences, driven by the often unique characteristics of each market.rnWithin this context of evolution and change this paper outlines BG Group's 'midstream' LNG experiences over the past three years and based on this experience reviews the structural changes presently underway in the industry, looks at key drivers and inhibitors of progress towards a globally 'efficient' industry and finally concludes that the answer to the question, "Are we there yet?" depends upon how far we expected to go.