Dateline 2009-03-17 (story link here):
MALAYSIA’S consumption of natural gas declined about 5 per cent last month from a year earlier because of falling demand from power plants, a Petroliam Nasional Bhd official said.
The country burned 2 billion cubic feet a day last year, and the power industry accounts for two-thirds of the usage, Ezhar Jaafar, senior manager for gas business at the state oil and gas company, said at the Gas Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
“The power sector is not taking as much because of the economic slowdown,” Ezhar said.
Malaysia’s slowing economy has curbed the consumption of electricity as offices and factories close down. Analysts at Citigroup Inc and Standard Chartered Plc expect Malaysia to join neighbouring Singapore in a recession this year, with Nomura Holdings Inc predicting a full-year contraction of as much as 4 per cent.Malaysia may have to consider importing gas or liquefied natural gas to meet domestic demand when economic growth picks up, Ezhar said.
Demand for LNG in Asia may drop 7 per cent to 10 per cent this year as countries including Japan and South Korea reduce cargo purchases, Ezhar said.
The cut in long-term contract volumes may force some producers to sell the cargoes at “cheap” prices, he said, without identifying any supplier.
The world’s three biggest LNG producers are Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia.
LNG is natural gas that has been chilled to liquid form, reducing it to one-six-hundredth of its original volume, for transportation by ship to destinations not connected by pipeline. It’s turned back into gas for distribution to power plants and other buyers. – Bloomberg
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Wata - Malaysian Oil and Gas Engineer 