ExxonMobil sees Asia net energy import to double by 2020

Fueled by accelerating economic growth, Asia's net energy imports will more than double by 2020, with demand for natural gas outpacing that of oil, Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Lee Raymond was quoted by Dow Jones as saying.

Exxon Mobil - the world's-largest publicly traded oil company - is keen to tap emerging Asian markets' increasing appetite for gas. The firm invested in gas fields in Malaysia, Indonesia and Russia and produces 42 million cubic meters of gas a day from the South China Sea.

"The net import dependence of the Asian region will more than double in the next 18 years," overtaking Europe's and North America's net imports by 10 percent, Raymond said at the Seventh Asia Oil and Gas Conference Tuesday.

Oil is the main energy source in Asia, but a continuing increase in natural-gas supply and demand - driven primarily by growth in power generation - will change the balance, Mr. Raymond said.

"Natural gas use has been growing at about 6 percent, almost twice as fast as oil in this part of the world," he said. (*)