Assessing the Possibility of a Gas Hub Emergence in East Asia

DOI: 10.33917/es-1.175.2021.136-141

The article examines the problem of emergence in East Asia of a regional trading center (hub) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) with its own independent price index, which can become the basis for pricing in long-term contracts for supplying gas to the countries of this region. The author identifies the main factors stimulating Asian players in the gas market to pass to a new pricing system while signing gas purchase contracts. The countries — the main candidates for creating their own LNG hub — are considered. The article analyzes current situation and the prospects for developing regional LNG hubs in such countries as China, Japan and Singapore.

The paper also identifies the main obstacles to creating developed exchange trade of LNG in the Asia-Pacific countries and estimates the most likely places for the emergence of a gas hub.

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