Analysis And Countermeasures Of The "Asian Premium" Problem In The LNG Market

At present,China has become the world’s largest natural gas importer,and liquefied natural gas(LNG)is the main form of China’s natural gas import trade.For a long time,based on political,economic and other historical factors,different pricing formulas have been adopted for global LNG international trade in North America,Europe and Asia.However,the LNG importing countries in Asia have to pay higher LNG import prices than the European and American countries,and the problem of "Asian premium" is serious.This paper makes an in-depth analysis of the problem of "Asian premium",and studies the deep-seated causes of the problem:(1)the protectionism of resource countries,power politics,the game between politics and power;(2)The "energy security premium" of the demand country for the security of natural gas supply;(3)The conflicts of interest and geopolitics between Asian countries highly dependent on natural gas resources.Based on the urgent need for upgrading the oil and gas industry for China’s "double carbon" goal and the opportunity for the international LNG market to enter a relaxed supply and demand period,a series of policy measures and strategic paths to deal with this problem under the new situation are proposed:(1)To build a market-oriented competition pattern by adjusting the mode of operation;(2)Learn from the successful experience of foreign countries,build a fair and open trading platform to form a pricing center;(3)Promote energy diplomacy and establish a joint bargaining mechanism among Asian countries;(4)Make use of the policy advantages of Hainan free trade port,through the responsibility of central enterprises,explore the preparation for the construction of Hainan LNG international trading center,to build an open and market-oriented LNG international trading platform and realize to solve the difficulties of "Asian premium".