Africa's LNG Boom Giving Asia An Alternative To Hormuz

More suppliers and more shipping options will favor Asian buyers. Rystad Energy estimates that Africa holds roughly 20% of global LNG capacity, about 93 million tons a year, and S&P Global expects African production to nearly double by the end of the decade.

East African gas has a natural route to Asia across the Indian Ocean, while West African cargoes can go to Europe or Asia, whichever pays more. Any buyer in a hurry to reroute will find African cargoes competing for its business.

Asian buyers want exactly that kind of diversification competition. Southeast Asia alone is forecast to account for about 40% of global LNG imports by 2050. This year Asian buyers have already diverted at least eight Atlantic Basin cargoes away from Europe.

Commodity traders sit at the center of the rerouting. They work across multiple LNG markets, linking producers, buyers, shipping and infrastructure, and while governments talk about diversification, traders are the ones building a more global LNG market with roots in Africa.

Companies like Trafigura, Gunvor, BGN Group and Hartree Partners all have footholds in African supply markets such as Nigeria and Morocco. In Egypt, BGN has become a preferred supplier of liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline and has announced a procurement contract for 160 LNG cargoes through 2026.

Its supply comes from Morocco, where it operates fuel terminals at three sites. BGN has also moved early to serve Asian demand, forming a shipping venture with South Korea's HMM and signing a long-term charter with Japan's IINO Lines for an LPG dual-fuel VLGC, a ship that can run on either LPG or conventional marine fuel like marine gas oil.

Arrangements like these are changing supply chains in practice, extending Africa's gas network to Asia and the Pacific.