Age
Thursday 17/9/2009 Page: 3
CHINESE demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is likely to continue as the world energy market shifts away from coal, according to a new report.
David Whittall, global equities manager with Security Global Investors and author of the report, Global Energy - the Rapidly Changing Landscape, to be released today, told Business-Day that countries would shift from simply looking to satisfy their energy needs to seeking to balance their portfolio with the use of alternative energy sources.
"In the first analysis, we try and assess how much energy China will require and will we have more LNG than is necessary?" he said. "You have to ask as well what quality of life do people want in China. Do they want to wear face masks forever and not be able to breathe their own air? I don't think so. "So gas is going to be used more and more beyond peak load service. It is almost incalculable the ultimate demand for LNG. These decisions have to be made not just in China but across the region."
The market capitalisation of the energy sector is $3.6 trillion, second behind the finance sector. Mr Whittall said energy markets were shifting and countries such as Australia were starting to demand respect in terns of production. "We have seen Russia surpass Saudi Arabia as the biggest oil producer in the world," he said. "Mexico has experienced a huge decline, Indonesia has experienced a decline, Norway is in decline, the UK is in decline. Australia is one of the up and coming countries, with LNG being a big theme here."
Mr Whittall said demand for drilling rigs was beginning to stabilise, with lots of players engaged in exploration and production. He said integrated oil companies, such as Exxon-Mobil, BP and Petrobras, which account for 57% of the total market capitalisation of the world energy sector, would start looking to swallow up smaller exploration and production companies as the market recovered.
0 comments:
Post a Comment