Natural Gas, An International Perspective

This collection of papers is concerned with the issues of international trade in natural gas. The prospects for trade are examined and the particular problems which hinder the expansion of gas trade in Western Europe, Japan, the USA and the developing countries are treated in detail by different authors.

The controversial gas pricing issue is presented from different standpoints: that of Algeria which emphasises the importance of supply factors and that of importers which stresses the role of competition in fuel markets.

The important questions of government intervention in international negotiations and that of the role played by political factors in the areas of investment and trade are also addressed in the book.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Prospects for International Trade in Natural Gas
3. The Encroachment of Natural Gas in the World Oil Market
4. Natural Gas in Western Europe: Modest Growth in a buyer’s Market?
5. Norwegian Gas: Reserves, Production and Markets
6. The Prospects for Natural Gas in Developing Countries
7. The Evolution of Market-responsive Pricing for Natural Gas in the USA and its Effects on Gas Trade
8. International Gas Trade and Respect of Contracts
9. Present and Possible Future Utilisation of Natural Gas in the Western Pacific Region
10. Government Intervention as a Factor in International Gas Trade: Help or Hindrance?
11. Natural Gas Development: Pricing, Politics and Profitability