SINGAPORE: Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade volumes rose to a record last year led by Asia, though growth was marginal as demand was slammed by coronavirus-induced restrictions, according to a report by the International Gas Union (IGU).
Overall LNG trade increased to 356.1 million tons last year, up by 1.4 million tons or about 0.4 percent from 2019, mostly driven by increased exports from the United States and Australia, the group said in its annual report released on Thursday.
This was smaller than the growth of 40.9 million tons, or 11.5 percent, in 2019, the IGU said. But, LNG was one of the few commodities that had an increase in trade in 2020, it said.
“LNG trade in 2020 was heavily impacted by COVID-19, as markets, cities and producers across the globe wrestled with lockdowns and a multitude of other disruptions,” said the IGU, which comprises more than 160 members and advocates the use of gas.
Australia overtook Qatar as the largest LNG exporter in the world, while the US and Russia remained as the third- and fourth-largest exporters respectively, it added.
In 2020, the US exported 11 million tons, or about 33 percent, more than in 2019 due to new production from Freeport LNG, Cameron LNG and Elba Island. Exports, however, declined from Trinidad and Tobago, Malaysia, Egypt, Algeria and Norway, the IGU said.
For imports, Asia made up 70 percent of overall volumes with growth mainly driven by China, India, Taiwan and South Korea, with Myanmar being a new importer.
“While COVID-19 meant significant restrictions for some of these markets, they likely also benefited from the lower price period in 2020 and purchased additional short-term volumes, and expansion of regasification capacity in some cases,” IGU said.
Extended lockdowns and the increased share of renewables in the energy mix reduced net imports into Europe by 4.3 million tons.
COVID-19 also severely impacted liquefaction development with companies delaying final investment decisions on projects up to 2021 and later because of the uncertain economic climate with developers prioritising deferment of capital expenditure, IGU said.
For instance, a total of 87.3 million tons per annum (mtpa) of capacity were expected to be sanctioned in 2020, but only one project of 3.25 mtpa in Mexico was approved.
New regasification projects in China and India will continue to support gas demand while projects under construction in Ghana, El Salvador, Cyprus and Nicaragua and expected online over the next two years could see these countries make their debut LNG purchases, IGU said.
Australia overtakes Qatar as the largest LNG exporter in the world
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Australia overtakes Qatar as the largest LNG exporter in the world
- LNG trade rises to record in 2020 but growth slowed by COVID-19
Saudi minister at Davos urges collaboration on minerals
- The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals
LONDON: Countries need to collaborate on mining and resources to help avoid geopolitical tensions, Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
“The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals, the concentration in different areas of the world,” Bandar Alkhorayef told a panel discussion on the geopolitics of materials.
“The rational thing to do is to collaborate, and that’s what we are doing,” he added. “We are creating a platform of collaboration in Saudi Arabia.”
The Kingdom last week hosted the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. Alkhorayef said the platform was launched by the government in 2022 as a contribution to the global community. “It’s very important to have a global movement, and that’s why we launched the Future Minerals Forum,” he said. “It is the most important platform of global mining leaders.”
The Kingdom has made mining one of the key pillars of its economy, rapidly expanding the sector under the Vision 2030 reform program with an eye on diversification. Saudi Arabia has an estimated $2.5 trillion in mineral wealth and the ramping up of extraction comes at a time of intense global competition for resources to drive technological development in areas like AI and renewables.
“We realized that unlocking the value that we have in our natural resources, of the different minerals that we have, will definitely help our economy to grow to diversify,” Alkhorayef said. The Kingdom has worked to reduce the timelines required to set up mines while also protecting local communities, he added. Obtaining mining permits in Saudi Arabia has been reduced to just 30 to 90 days compared to the many years required in other countries, Alkhorayef said.
“We learned very, very early that permitting is a bottleneck in the system,” he added. “We all know, and we have to be very, very frank about this, that mining doesn’t have a good reputation globally.
“We are trying to change this and cutting down the licensing process doesn’t only solve it. You need also to show the communities the impact of the mining on their lives.”
Saudi Arabia’s new mining investment laws have placed great emphasis on the development of society and local communities, along with protecting the environment and incorporating new technologies, Alkhorayef said. “We want to build the future mines; we don’t want to build old mines.”
