High Gas Prices Cloud Asia’s Push for LNG

The soaring prices have left countries such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh struggling to procure enough LNG. They collectively curbed cargo purchases by 11% since the war in Ukraine began, according to data firm Vortexa. In Bangladesh, the government has been rationing power to save energy.

Additional supplies of LNG, which is natural gas chilled to a liquid state, aren’t expected to come significantly until around 2026. The supply shortages are eroding trust in LNG’s reliability and affordability in some emerging Asian countries, leaving them in a bind over how to rebalance their energy mix, analysts and industry experts said.

Southeast and South Asian nations rely on a range of energy sources beyond natural gas, from coal and hydropower to petroleum and biofuels.

Asian countries are the largest customers of LNG by far, with the region accounting for 73% of global imports last year, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers, an industry group. Although most of that demand comes from China, Japan and South Korea, analysts expect the most growth this decade will come from emerging Asian nations, where international agencies and global utilities have promoted the fuel as a cleaner alternative to coal.

Now, Vietnam’s prime minister publicly questioned the feasibility of becoming reliant on LNG given current market prices. Bangladesh pulled the plug on one of its…