Singapore Set to Become Asia's LNG Trading Hub

Singapore is expanding its LNG capacity

Singapore is poised to become Asia's trading hub for liquefied natural gas (LNG), expanding the market for gas from Qatar and other exporters, according to the investment news site Investvine.

Singapore will nearly triple its capacity for importing gas over the next three years and will award licenses to up to two suppliers.

The city-state's LNG storage facility is slated to have its third tank completed by the end of this year, bringing its total capacity to 6 million tonnes per year, and a fourth tank planned for completion by 2016 will boost that to 9 million tonnes per year.

Infrastructure for transport of the fuel could also involve co-investments in LNG terminals and infrastructure in Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia due to the absence of natural gas pipelines to move fuel around.

Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani, CEO of Qatargas, recently spoke about the opportunities in the region at Singapore International Energy Week, saying that Asia increased its imports of LNG 10 percent between 2011 and 2012, adding 15.6 million tonnes.

Japan has dramatically increased its LNG imports since shutting down its nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster and imported 87.5 million tonnes in 2012, while Southeast Asian demand is expected to grow to more than 40 million tonnes per year by 2025.

The region is now the world's biggest gas importer, accounting for 46 percent of global trade in the fuel.

Singapore recently took a step toward use of LNG as a marine fuel with the completion of a study on technical standards and procedures.