Qatargas CEO: New LNG Markets Emerge, Balance Demand Drop

New markets for liquified natural gas have emerged as traditional outlets continue to be affected by the global economic downturn, the chairman and chief executive officer of Qatargas Operating Co. Ltd. said Tuesday.

"LNG is finding a home for anyone who is producing" Qatargas' Faisal Al-Suwaidi said on the sidelines of the World Gas Conference.

"Traditional markets are seeing a drop in demand, but new markets such as China and India are putting things in balance," Al-Suwaidi said.

Al-Suwaidi said large-scale LNG producers needed to take a long-term view at current prices, which fell along with crude oil prices over the past year in response to the financial crisis and economic slowdown.

"My view here is that this is a long-term business. Prices will come down, prices will go up," Al-Suwaidi said. "We need to accept that over the next 30 to 40 years that prices will fluctuate."

Qatargas' focus on big production trains and large LNG carriers allows the company to expand its market possibilities, shipping from the Middle East to such far away markets as the U.K., U.S. and Mexico, the executive said. In addition, operating at scale reduces unit costs.

The very nature of the LNG market also allows for sufficient flexibility that cargos can be shifted to meet demand.

"In theory, the entire quantity of the liquid market can be diverted, but with limitations," Al-Suwaidi said. For example, different seasonal factors in the U.S. and Europe could lead to diversion of cargos between the two markets, he said.

-By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-7564-4503; [e-mail]