Asia needs all the gas it can get, Chevron says

Expanding Asian economies will need to tap into as many sources of liquified natural gas as they can to meet growing demand, a Chevron official said from Seoul.

"My view is that we're going to need all sources of natural gas supply to meet Asian gas demand in the years ahead and LNG will be the key to delivering sufficient supply," Pierre Breber, a vice president in charge of midstream operations for Chevron, said at a gas conference in Seoul.

South Korea has no international natural gas pipelines and therefore relies on LNG shipments to meet its demands. It's the second-largest importer of LNG in the world.

"Not all gas consumers in Asia have sufficient domestic resources to draw from," the vice president said. "That leaves the balance of Asian natural gas demand -- over 40 percent -- to be met through imports, by pipeline and LNG."

As a whole, Breber said Asian demand for natural gas is expected to grow by 75 percent by 2025 because of the pace at which regional economies are growing.

In terms of supply, he said natural gas from the United States should help meet about 30 percent of the additional LNG required by 2025, though the sector in Australia and Qatar should remain vibrant for the foreseeable future.

[Chevron]