Malaysian LNG exports slump, gas demand down

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Malaysia, the world’s second-biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, supplied fewer cargoes in the first five months of this year as the global recession curbed demand for the cleaner-burning fuel. Shipments of LNG, the nation’s third-largest export commodity, dropped 5.3 per cent from a year earlier to 9.4 million metric tons between January and May, the Department of Statistics said on its Web site. The value of LNG shipments rose 13 per cent to RM15.3 billion (US$4.26 billion).Malaysia increased exports of LNG to a record 22.87 million tons last year, valued at RM40.7 billion, from its LNG complex in Borneo, according to Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank. Supplies are falling this year as Japan and South Korea, the world’s two biggest LNG consumers, slash fuel imports, because of lower demand for from power plants and manufacturers.Malaysian LNG unit prices, typically linked to crude oil, climbed by 20 per cent to RM1,618 a ton during the five months, the statistics department said. New York oil reached an eight-month high of US$73.38 a barrel on June 30, after rising 37 per cent in the preceding two months on optimism about a global economic recovery.Only Qatar supplies more LNG, which is natural gas chilled to liquid form. The fuel’s reduced to one-six-hundredth of its original volume at minus 161 degrees Celsius (minus 258 degrees Fahrenheit) for transportation by ship to destinations not connected by pipeline and turned back into gas for distribution to users.

Source: Bloomberg