PERTH, Australia—Natural gas transported across the world’s oceans by ship has helped to displace coal burned in European power plants and Chinese household cookers. Now, producers want it to become a fuel for cruise liners, container ships and road trucks. In doing so, Big Oil hopes to boost demand by enough to drag prices of liquefied natural gas out of the doldrums. LNG prices last month sank to a seven-year low in Asia as demand failed to keep up with rising supply from countries including the U.S. and Australia. Wood...
With a global gas glut that is estimated to take seven-year to clear, the big oil companies are developing new markets to boost demand, signing deals to supply fuel for cruise liners, container ships and trucking companies. Investing heavily in massive production facilties that chill natural gas to a liquid for exporting, especially in U.S. , which is positioned to become the leading exporter, the global energy companies are banking on a rise in liquid natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. Research by LNG , an information and analytics company, forecast IHS demand in trucking and shipping to grow to 10% of all traded LNG by 2030 . However, lack of infrastructure and competition from low oil prices remain challenges.