Japan
is
set to absorb all of the world's excess capacity to produce liquefied natural
gas this year, following the closure of a significant chunk of its nuclear
power capacity after the earthquake and tsunami, says Barclays Capital.
"We
expect Japan's LNG takes to rise by 1.0-1.2 Bcf/d more than in our prior 2011
forecast," it says. "This pushes our forecast of global LNG demand to
match the ability of the supply chain to grow production." The LNG market
will probably get even tighter by the end of this year and into 2012, it says. European LNG imports will
drop, it adds.