LNG

Europe’s gas crisis limits available FSRU vessels in Southeast Asia

Mounting gas shortages in Europe has not only drawn flexible LNG volumes away from Asia but also limited the number of available floating storage and regas (FSRU) vessels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds. To replace missing Russian supplies, European importers chartered 12 FSRU that were initially destined for LNG-to-power projects in Southeast Asia. Just over 20 FSRU vessels were available or under construction as of August. Since the war in Ukraine started in mid-February, 12 FSRUs have been chartered by European utility buyers for recently approved import terminals. Nine additional FSRU-based terminals are planned as EU gas buyers rush to replace Russian pipeline gas with LNG imports.The scarcity of floating LNG import terminals risk to slow down the electrification of emerging markets in Southeast Asia, where FRSU were meant to account for a sizeable share of future regas capacity. Gas is no longer the fuel of choice for decentralized power projects in Asia, as prices have gone through the roof and developers opt for renewables combined with energy storage instead.