Key elements for functioning gas hubs: A case study of East Asia

Abstract

This paper clarifies various concepts relevant to gas trading hubs and presents an innovative framework with key elements to create gas hubs. The nine key elements in the framework are further divided into basic elements for balancing hubs and advanced elements for benchmark hubs. The framework is applied to three East Asian case studies. The East Asian comparative case study shows that while Singapore is leading the way in establishing an LNG hub in Asia, the LNG hub concept is yet to be tested. Meanwhile, although China has the potential to host a gas hub, its current level of hub development is low. The paper suggests that these countries can advance their hub initiatives by strengthening the key elements as detailed in the proposed framework and create a more conducive environment through efforts such as market liberalization.