The global LNG market, in which Gazprom intends to increase its liquefaction capacity by 250% to 25 million tonnes per year by 2018, will pose unfamiliar challenges to the company, according to analyst firm GlobalData.
Anna Belova, Ph.D., GlobalData’s Lead Upstream Analyst covering the Former Soviet Union, states that Gazprom, the world’s leading natural gas producer, is seeking to expand aggressively beyond pipeline-based gas marketing in order to extend its reach into Asian demand centres.
However, while Gazprom has a cost and logistical advantage in its current markets, upscaling LNG activities will mean encountering competition from Australia, the Middle East, and the US, further compounded by new Russian rivals.
Belova explains, “Rosneft and Novatek, backed by foreign partners, plan to bring new liquefaction plants online by 2018. Rosneft’s determination to become a world-class integrated oil and gas company requires it to expand its gas operations, while Novatek, the second largest gas producer in Russia after Gazprom, seeks access to international markets through LNG.”
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