Combined LNG imports for the five Asian countries which constitute the top five global importers rose to record levels in 2016, as record buying from India and China combined with nuclear outages supporting demand in the top two buyers Japan and Korea. Taiwan also saw record imports.

Production from new plants in Australia and elsewhere was mostly absorbed by Asian buyers, but at the ‘cost’ of pushing down prices. As more LNG comes online during 2017, the ability of Asian buyers to soak up additional supplies will be further tested for this year. (CONTINUED - 1633 WORDS)