The Middle East's Once-Hot LNG Market Faces a Decade-Long Slump
- Mideast LNG imports fell 37% in 2018 while global demand rose
- Region’s liquefied natural gas trade won’t recover until 2029
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The Middle East was a bright spot for global liquefied natural gas demand in 2015. Now imports have plummeted so much that it could take a decade to recover.
Last year’s 37 percent slump and the prolonged negative outlook is in contrast to the region’s two-year LNG demand surge that outpaced global growth, according to BloombergNEF and ship-broker Poten & Partners Inc. data. The Middle East is now expected to make up less than 4 percent of global imports for at least eight years.