Asian Countries Abandon LNG Plans Amid Reliability Concerns

For years, the natural gas market has been counting on emerging Asian countries like Thailand and Bangladesh to drive growth. However, these governments are now backing away from their previous commitments to import large amounts of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In Shell's latest projections, South and Southeast Asia will make up around 40% of LNG imports by the middle of this century, accounting for more than two-thirds of additional demand beyond current levels. However, Thailand is moving away from its reliance on spot LNG imports, with a new power market plan aiming to increase renewable energy to 50% of the grid within the next decade.

Bangladesh is also shifting towards solar power and offshore gas exploration to reduce its dependence on imported LNG. The country's Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has vowed that Bangladesh will no longer be a consumer of imported energy, but rather a producer of solar power.

The Philippines and Vietnam are also reevaluating their plans for LNG imports, with the latter resisting developer demands for extraordinary purchase promises guaranteeing up to 95% of sales for 25 years. This shift away from LNG is largely driven by concerns over its reliability and affordability, rather than ideological attempts to hit net zero.