US shale gas boom unlikely to cut prices in Asia

The rapid development of shale gas in the US in the past five years has pushed the domestic market price of gas below the cost of production, but this is unlikely to benefit Asia much, according to Fereidun Fesharaki, chairman of Facts Global Energy, a company providing research and analysis to the oil and gas industry.

Speaking at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong this week, Fesharaki noted that the fixed costs related to the export of liquid gases transportation and liquefaction costs plus pipeline charges are about $7 per million British thermal units mBtu. And on top of that you have...