Global LNG deliveries jumped 9.4% last year to 240.8 million tons (304.1 billion cubic meters), according to the Paris-based International Group of LNG Importers (GIIGNL). Still, growth -courtesy largely of the ramp-up in Qatar's LNG output - was less than the 21% surge seen the year before, although up on the 6% increase registered in 2009 (WGI May25' 11).Spot and short-term imports, under contracts of less than four years, leapt 50% to 61.2 million tons (994 cargoes), or just over a quarter of total LNG trade, versus 18.9% in 2010, according to the group's annual report. This was largely because of soaring Japanese demand after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which GIIGNL President Jean Vermeire called the most significant event for LNG trade of 2011, "shift[ing] global flows and boosting] long-term demand prospects for gas-fired power generation."
展开▼
