PNG and Japan to take lead at LNGA meet

Japan and Papua New Guinea will form the biggest groups at the forthcoming 11th LNG for Asian Supplies Conference 2016 (LNGA 2016), taking place in Singapore.

The conference will be officially opened by S. Iswaran, Minister of Trade & Industry (Singapore), followed by high profile Ministerial Addresses by Ben Micah,  Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Papua  New Guinea and  Yuki Sadamitsu,  Director Petroleum & Natural Gas Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and a Keynote Address by Yuji Kakimi, President of JERA Co., Inc.  on March 15, 2016.

In addition,  Kumul Petroleum Holdings, CEO, Wapu Sonk  and Kawasaki Kishen Kaishas GM of LNG, Captain Akira Shoji  are other key speakers from these two countries. 

Papua New Guinea’s National Oil and Gas Company Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd, whose core commercial interest is the PNG LNG project and Japans JERA Inc have also come on board as major sponsors at the annual event for the first time.

Themed Many Sellers, Few Buyers: Lower Oil Prices and the Future Investment Dilemma, the conference, now in its 11th year, is expected to attract nearly 200 delegates from 20 countries. Japanese companies are among the top two groups every year at the event to be joined this year by a large delegation from Papua New Guinea.

LNGA 2016 will again feature a special LNG veterans panel comprising of key veterans in the LNG industry. The LNG community can expect to meet a distinguished panel of speakers which include senior executives from global oil and gas producers, buyers, sellers, advisors, policymakers, and end users from Energy Market Authority, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia, Golar LNG, ENI Spa., BP, ExxonMobil, Oil Search Ltd,  Shell, PT Pertamina (Persero), RWE Supply and Trading, Uniper Global Commodities, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Gas Natural Fenosa, Gazprom Marketing & Trading, Glencore, Oil Search Limited, Parallax Energy, Petronet LNG,  Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Credit Suisse, E.ON Global Commodities and Sempra LNG.

Conference Co-Chairman, Dr Fereidun Fesharaki, Chairman of FGE, said: "The LNG markets are driven by expectations of surplus LNG on the one hand and on the other hand, the need for buyers to tie up supplies as LNG demand grows in certain key consuming nations and as the supply contracts expire. There are many projects on offer, but buyers have become more choosy, both on price and non-price terms. The balance between the expectations and reality has not been fully reached but key decisions will need to be made over the next 2-3 years to go forward. LNGA 2016 provides a forum for key decision makers to share their views and offer us a path forward. Every key decision maker will be at this conference."

Andy Flower, LNG and Natural Gas Consultant, UK, who is also co-chairing added, "The outlook for LNG has never looked so challenging as it does today. Demand growth has slowed in Asian markets, which now account for three-quarters of LNG imports globally, just as a surge in new supply from the Pacific Basin and the USA starts and prices are back to levels last seen six years ago. How buyers, sellers, and other players in the LNG business respond to the challenges will determine the rate at which activity grows over the next decade. We look forward to LNGA 2016 providing the opportunity, as it has since 2005, for discussions of the issues facing the business in a relaxed and informal environment as participants from around the world and all phases of the LNG chain gather in Singapore once again."

Two in-depth pre-and post-conference workshops will cater to delegates keen to deepen their knowledge of LNG Supply & Pricing and LNG Sales & Purchase Agreement. The workshops will be conducted by Andy Flower, LNG and Natural Gas Consultant, UK and Ben Smith of Norton Rose Fulbright Hong Kong, respectively.

A senior representative of the organisers, Conference Connection, said "The LNGA series addresses the State of the LNG markets and the line-up of LNG stars in the 2016 speaker panel, will not only provide in-depth discussion of market trends, but also visions and solutions for the future global LNG business. LNGA 2016 promises to be another excellent event in the annual tradition of Asias first global LNG conference."

LNG Supplies for Asian Markets is organized by Conference Connection and has the official support of the Energy Market Authority, International Enterprise Singapore, and The Singapore Tourism Board., with Platinum sponsors Anadarko Petroleum Corporations Mozambique LNG, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd and Trafigura.  Corporate sponsors include JERA Inc Pavilion Energy, ExxonMobil, Shell, Kangan LNG (Parto), Sempra LNG, Oil Search and Comet LNG . The official media sponsors comprise of Interfax Global Energy, LNG OneWorld, Ogilvie Publishing, Platts, Rim Intelligence, The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF), and WorldOils.