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With instability and vulnerabilities looming across global markets and power systems in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, South Asia’s planned multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure expansion is exposed to economic and energy security risks, according to Global Energy Monitor’s Asia Gas Tracker, a provider of comprehensive dataset of gas infrastructure across East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
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While energy markets react to price spikes following the Iran crisis and renewed shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz , Robert Rozansky , Project Manager at Asia Gas Tracker, points out that South Asia is exposed to $107 billion LNG bet as the Middle East war rages. Based on the data from GEM’s Asia Gas Tracker, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have $107 billion in LNG terminals and gas pipelines proposed or under construction.
Rozansky underlines that Southern Asia accounts for 17% or 110.7 million tonnes per annum of global LNG import capacity under development and 17% of all gas pipelines by length or 34,146 kilometers, with Bangladesh and Pakistan each pursuing enough new capacity to roughly double existing LNG imports, while India is advancing one of the world’s largest LNG terminal and pipeline expansions.
However, LNG projects in the region often fail to move forward despite the scale of these plans, illustrated by India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, which have shelved or cancelled two to three times as much LNG import capacity over the past decade as they have brought online. This is interpreted to reflect the challenges faced by price-sensitive LNG importers.
Rozansky underlined: “Even in a relatively balanced LNG market, disruptions to shipping routes and production can quickly raise delivered prices and tighten access for import-dependent countries. At the same time, renewable power is gaining ground across the region.
“Solar generation in Pakistan has more than tripled in three years, while India is on track to meet more than 40% of electricity demand with renewables by 2030. The recent price shocks underscore the challenges faced by LNG-importing economies. For South Asia, expanding import infrastructure could heighten exposure to volatile global gas markets at a time when renewable power is becoming increasingly competitive.”
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Asia Gas Tracker’s Project Manager claims that the energy shocks tied to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026 show that even in a relatively balanced LNG market, disruptions to shipping routes and production can quickly raise delivered prices and tighten access, underscoring the economic and energy-security risks for deeper LNG dependence in regions like Southern Asia.
When recalling the market dynamics before the ignition of the Middle East conflict, Rozansky highlighted that global LNG markets were on a straightforward path to oversupply with new U.S. and Qatari production ramping up through the end of the decade, fueling optimistic demand growth forecasts for Southern Asia.
Despite the region’s $107 billion in potential investment, the major gas importers of Southern Asia — India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan — are said to be likely to encounter barriers to LNG growth even beyond the ongoing conflict, including high fuel costs and high rates of failure among prospective LNG import projects.
Rozansky and Julie Joly , Director of Oil and Gas Programs at Global Energy Monitor, emphasized: “The success or failure of these infrastructure plans will impact the region’s future energy mix. India has the second- and third-largest planned buildouts of LNG terminals and gas pipelines in the world, respectively.
“Bangladesh and Pakistan have enough proposed LNG import infrastructure to roughly double their existing capacities to import the fuel, and they rank among the top fifteen developers of gas pipelines globally.”
Asia Gas Tracker underscores that the fallout from the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran has highlighted the fragile assumption that LNG imports will be affordable and reliably delivered to Asia, as prices are squeezed by the disruption of Qatari LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in the immediate term.
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“Even in oversupply, beyond the current energy shock, Southern Asian importers of LNG should remain clear eyed about its limitations. Growing deployment of renewable power and other clean technologies offers a foundation for more sustainable and competitive economies,” concluded Rozansky and Joly.
about 4 months ago
With instability and vulnerabilities looming across global markets and power systems in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, South Asia’s planned multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure expansion is exposed to economic and energy security risks, according to Global
