The world’s gas industry descended on Tokyo in April as a trio of Asian LNG buyers test their collective muscle in a push for more flexible long-term contracts for the fuel.
Korea Gas, Japan’s JERA and China National Offshore Oil Corp – whose joint liquefied natural gas volumes account for a third of global LNG trade – are attempting to cement a shift in power from producers to importers amid a supply glut that is expected to persist into the early 2020s.
Developing responses from LNG producers to the group’s alliance may also soon start to give clues as to who will win advantage as the fuel surplus puts pressure on suppliers to give buyers greater contractual freedom than they have had since the industry first began to ramp up in the 1970s.