Asian countries may start buying LNG from Russia

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to RIA Novosti and the Prime news agency on the benefits of LNG exports from the United States due to the events in the Persian Gulf.

"Many Asian consumers, who were very dependent on these supplies (from the Middle East - ed.) obviously, will reconsider their long-term strategy. This is precisely the long-term effect. And in this sense, of course, the United States is winning, Russia and a number of other countries are winning, which are ready to offer new volumes in the coming years," he said.

According to Belogoryev, the current crisis is important not so much from the point of view of current physical LNG supplies, but from the point of view of undermining importers' confidence in the reliability of Middle Eastern exporters. Until recently, Qatar and the UAE were considered the "exporters of last resort" and the benchmark of reliability in the global LNG market, but the conflict has become a serious blow to their reputation.

The expert noted that the key players in the global LNG market remain the "big four" producers - Qatar, Australia, the United States and Russia, which over the past 10 years have provided more than 95% of the increase in global gas liquefaction capacity.

"If Australia does not have the opportunity to increase production in the coming years, the three remaining exporters are Russia, the United States and Qatar. The main growth occurred in the second half of the 1990s, and it is an important, stable, and large supplier. If Qatar's position is undermined, naturally, the remaining two - the United States and Russia - benefit first," Belogoryev added.