IEA Singles Out Singapore as Likely Gas Hub

摘要

Singapore holds the best prospects for becoming a new Asian gas hub, according to a report published in Tokyo on Tuesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA). IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, who presented the report, said Japan, Korea and China are also “likely competitors” to become future gas hubs. The report also questions the sustainability of Asia’s gas market system, which is heavily geared toward long-term contracts linked or indexed to oil. As the Asian market expands to possibly become the world’s second-largest gas market by 2015, the IEA sees the dominance of oillinked long-term contracts affecting the competitiveness of the region, where gas prices are much higher than in other parts of the world.