Just a few years ago, instead of watching just how far spot LNG prices in Asia could tumble, the opposite was true. In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and the subsequent shutdown of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors needed for power generation, spot LNG prices in the region had a multi-year upward trajectory that finally saw prices breach the $20 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) price point by February 2014 – a price that caused considerable fiscal and trade deficit problems for Japan that had to quickly turn to the spot market to make up for lost nuclear power generation. The ramp-up in prices at the time also came amid a much different market for the super-cooled fuel since supply was still limited and the LNG spot market in Asia was still developing. However, with an increase in supply from new projects in Australia, the […]