Liquefied Natural Gas trade stood at 241.1mn tonnes in 2014, the second highest ever and slightly above the result of 2013, the IGU World LNG Report has found.
According to the report, Japan remained the largest source of demand whilst Qatar maintained its position as the largest LNG supplier, it added.
The floating LNG regasification capacity has nearly doubled since 2010 reaching 54 MTPA in 2014 with 16 active terminals in 11 countries. Five additional floating projects with a combined capacity of 16.2 MTPA are under construction, four of which are in new LNG import markets.
The shipping fleet at the end of 2014 comprised 373 carriers with a combined capacity of 55 mmcm. In 2014, 28 vessels were delivered as speculative new builds in the market — a trend which continues in 2015 whilst ample tonnage is open for charter.
“Global LNG demand is expected to continue to grow with both traditional consumers and new markets and supply routes emerging. LNG is growing since the year 2000 with an average growth of 7% per annum,” the report said.
LNG supply has grown faster than any other source of gas and is poised to expand its share in the market by 2020, it concluded.
