Growing World LNG Trade

• In 2002,12 countries shipped 5.4 Tcf of natural gas (113 million tons of LNG) to 12 LNG-importing countries –up from less than 4 Tcf (84 million tons) shipped in 1997.
• Growth of world LNG trade is driven by increasing demand and declining domestic natural gas resources in gas-consuming countries,and by the desire of gas-producing countries to commercialize their resources.
• LNG trade accounted for about 6 percent of world natural gas consumption and about 26 percent of total international natural gas trade in 2002.
• In 2002,8 percent of LNG trade (400 Bcf or 8.4 million tons)was through short-term3 sales driven by high demand in Europe and South Korea.
• Despite an increase in short-term³ agreements, the vast majority of LNG is still traded through long-term contracts.
• LNG’s share of each importing country’s gas supply ranges from 2 percent in the United States to nearly 100 percent in Japan.