Hurdles face putative Asia-Pacific LNG hubs
Singapore, Shanghai and Japan all wish to become trading hubs and price-reporting agencies are trying to establish benchmarks
Since 2010, Asia-Pacific, historically the world's dominant liquefied natural gas-buying region, has increased its share of the market by 10 percentage points—it now accounts for 70% of global imports. Yet despite this hulking market position, the region lags well behind the US and Europe in developing tradeable indices that would allow market players to hedge price exposure and increase liquidity. This may be changing. Recent increases in short-term contracting and gas-to-gas price competition have encouraged many to believe that the region, which includes the world's four largest buyers of LNG (Japan, China, South Korea, and Taiwan), may be on the verge of developing local mechanisms that
Also in this section
28 April 2026
Datacentres will guzzle power at a ferocious rate, but the impact on wider energy markets will be far more complex than previously thought
28 April 2026
The key energy player faces balancing regional routes, political complexities, and creating a clear strategic vision for energy security
24 April 2026
The European Commission’s response to the Middle East crisis is to double down on its transition strategy, with plans for a new target on electrification
24 April 2026
A major new discovery by Eni and BP that can likely be fast-tracked to production is welcome news for Egypt as it scrambles to plug a widening supply gap and deal with rising import risks
