Asia remains the driver for global energy demand due to its robust economic growth and increasing population, said HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada.

“Asian economies are not just demanding more energy, but also cleaner and more flexible energy,” he said in a keynote address LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo yesterday.

In 2012, Asia imported an additional 15.6mn tonnes of LNG, representing a 10% increase over the previous year. Japan alone was responsible for more than 50% of Asian LNG consumption growth, but that is mostly due to the shutdown of its nuclear reactors,” al- Sada said.

He said “gas prices will remain regionalised for the foreseeable future”. The global gas market will continue to be divided into three main regions with persisting discrepancies in pricing, market outlook, and structure, despite Asian consumer efforts to change the pricing structure.

Al-Sada presented a comprehensive overview of the three regions and the developments that have characterised them. He noted the American market’s shift from coal to shale gas in power generation, driving both prices and carbon dioxide emissions down.

“Ironically, while natural gas led the US to record the world’s largest decline in coal consumption, excess American coal production was finding its way across the Atlantic. Europe’s coal imports jumped 23% in 2012, as many utilities across the continent shut down their modern gas-fired plants and began burning cheaper coal instead. This does not reflect very well on Europe’s declared strategic priorities vis-a-vis climate change, and the reduction of CO2 and other harmful gas emissions,” he said.

The minister expressed the view that the next five years would see some growth in the global LNG supply picture, thanks to new production facilities in Australia and North America.

However, he said “such additions may not be enough to meet the increasing appetite of new emerging markets including the Middle East and South America, along with the expected growth in global consumption by recovering traditional economies.”

Al-Sada said “producers and consumers have a shared responsibility to foster confidence in the future of LNG, and to encourage the establishment of an efficient and stable market environment, an environment where producers can confidently invest in developing capital intensive resources and where consumers can commit to provide a stable and viable demand.”

He highlighted the diplomatic ties between Qatar and Japan, which HH the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was keen to develop, and which was built on mutual co-operation, friendship, trust and support.

“Japan is Qatar’s largest trading partner, with a total trade volume exceeding $37bn in 2012. Qatar is Japan’s second largest LNG supplier and is Japan’s third largest crude oil supplier,” al-Sada said