Brunei calls for combined Asia stance in LNG market

A top Brunei official has urged closer cooperation between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei ? Asia?s major gas producing countries ? to better compete in the global spot gas market, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Thursday.

?Cooperation is something that we?ve done in the past but only on an opportunistic basis ? nothing formally agreed to,? Hamdillah Abdul Wahab, chief executive of Brunei Liquefied Natural Gas Sdn. Bhd., said in Wednesday?s interview with the news agency.

Hamdillah said Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia are now studying the compatibility of their LNG vessels to each other?s loading ports as an initial step to putting a formal structure on the pursuit of increased cooperation.

Compatibility of vessels to ports is key in order for the three countries to better compete in global spot LNG trades.

The mix-and-match of vessels and cargoes is already happening, Hamdillah said.

Last year, Malaysia?s state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, used a Brunei LNG vessel to deliver a spot gas cargo, Hamdillah said. (*)