Countries including Malaysia and Indonesia have plans to increase LNG import capacity, which could “create changes in market dynamics,” Takuya Tanabe, head of Asian LNG origination at JERA Global Markets (JERAGM), said at a Bloomberg power and gas seminar yesterday.

Traders are looking to capitalise on the strong domestic growth in the two emerging nations, where dwindling domestic gas reserves have forced governments to rethink export strategies.

Malaysia, the fifth-biggest exporter last year, has said it may need more terminals and facilities for imports, while the number 6 shipper, Indonesia, had earlier asked overseas buyers to accept delays to meet domestic demand.

The exporters also face a geographic mismatch between supply and demand, according to Fauziah Marzuki, BloombergNEF’s global head of gas research and analysis.

“You can’t fix the fact that East Malaysia is exporting LNG but West Malaysia actually needs more gas,” she said at the summit.

“The majority of global LNG demand growth is expected to come from Asia, with China and India leading that expansion,” JERAGM’s Tanabe said.