From Reuters via MSN, March 3:
Asia scrambles for LNG as Qatar halts output due to Iran war
India began rationing natural gas on Tuesday while countries around Asia looked to the spot market to replace supplies, activated emergency plans and prepared to step up production, as the conflict in the Middle East curtailed shipping and halted Qatari output.
Government officials and company executives in Japan, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Pakistan said they did not expect an immediate impact as some cargoes due this month had already arrived, but they would diversify their import sources and buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market if the war drags on.
LNG buyers in Asia account for more than 80% of shipments from Qatar, the world's No. 2 producer after the U.S., according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
In India, gas firms on Tuesday reduced supplies to companies in anticipation of tighter supply from the Middle East after Qatar halted production, Reuters reported.
Taiwan, which generates more than 40% of its electricity from LNG and imports a third of its supply from Qatar, will buy more from the U.S. and could coordinate with South Korea and Japan if a shipping blockade stretches on, its economy ministry said on Tuesday.
"We will continue moving in the direction we have been pursuing all along: obtaining sufficient quantities of energy through diversified markets," Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said, adding that an "emergency response mechanism" had been activated to deal with the Qatari supply disruption.
Japan, which is the world's No. 2 LNG importer and sources 4% of its gas from Qatar, could tap the spot market or have utilities buy from each other if needed, its trade minister said.
SOUTH ASIA LNG SUPPLY....
....MUCH MORE
