Exxon Says Rising Costs Risk Derailing LNG Boom

A sharp surge in costs to develop liquefied natural gas projects risks halting a growth boom in the industry that has been driven by soaring demand, an Exxon Mobil Corp. an executive said. Exxon expects global demand for LNG to double by 2010 and quadruple by 2020 said the president of Exxon's LNG Market Development unit.

But a surge in project costs could put the brakes on the bonanza for gas producers, he said.

Still, advances in technology and the development of high-cost gas pipeline projects in the former Soviet Union and Russia mean that LNG may not always forever remain the more expensive option in delivering gas. Source: Reuters