International LNG trade : the emergence of a short-term market

Natural gas is estimated to be the fastest growing component of world primary energy consumption. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain is a way of transporting natural gas over seas, by following a procedure of gas liquefaction, transportation in specialized tankers and regasification. During the last decade the LNG market changed substantial with the emergence of a short-term market. Analysis was performed examining the needs, the conditions and the risks of this change. The implications of the short-term market were investigated and an assessment was made regarding the future of a global LNG market. Certain risk management approaches were introduced and the implications of cost reduction in the LNG supply chain were examined. A computer model was created to investigate the profitability, on behalf of the shipowner, of three short-term trading routes. The future liquefaction and regasification capacity were presented, along with the future growth of the LNG fleet. Finally, a forecast for the future level of the LNG short-term trade was conducted.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Athanasopoulos, Panagiotis G

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Henry S. Marcus.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/36199

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36199