More gas for Asia in short term; but later?

摘要

Lower oil prices are leading to the postponement of a number of gas schemes with exports aimed at markets in Asia, which could cause tightness across the region at some stage in the future. Many schemes, however, are too far advanced to be curtailed, leaving Asian buyers with plenty of new suppliers to choose from at present. At the same time, demand for gas could he hit by a number of developments, including a slowdown in the rate of economic growth in China and the planned restart of several nuclear reactors in Japan that were closed following the tsunami of March 2011, which led to their closure on safety grounds.