The world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry should accelerate its speed in luring investments, in order to assure the market supply, pointed out a report by the 19th World Petroleum Congress being held in Madrid.

In the past 16 months, only three projects have clinched investments worldwide, namely, a 4.8-million-ton Pluto LNG Project in Australia, a 4.5-million-ton rebuilding project in Algeria's northeast Skikda City, and a 5.2-million-ton LNG project in Angola. From the end of 2005 through April 2007, only one 4.45-million-ton Peruvian LNG project had gotten approval.

In the early 2007, insiders commonly expected that 14 LNG projects in seven countries around the world could be approved within the year, which will bring an annual production capacity of 70 million tons to the market. However, only less than 19 million production capacities have been approved in the past two and a half years.

The report analyzes that it takes four years to build up and operate a LNG project. Slow investment decision-making has forced some consumers to consider other substitute energy, although LNG suppliers are in a seller's market.


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