Bambang's Osprey eyes Asian gas markets<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Osprey Maritime Ltd, which is controlled
\nby President Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo and his
\nIndonesian associates, is targetting the emerging Asian gas
\nmarkets.<\/p>\n
\"We see enormous growth in Asia for energy. It is a strategic
\nmove for us to position ourselves as an energy transportation
\nfirm,\" Osprey's chairman and chief executive officer Tim Cottew
\nsaid yesterday.<\/p>\n
Cottew was commenting on Osprey's acquisition of the Monaco-
\nbased oil and gas carrier Gotaas-Larsen.<\/p>\n
\"We are focusing on the new markets,\" Cottew said, citing
\nSouth Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and India as examples.<\/p>\n
Asia Pacific accounts for about 77 percent of global liquefied
\nnatural gas (LNG) demand, estimated at around 75 million tons in
\n1996, according to Alan Tronner, managing director of Kuala
\nLumpur-based AsiaPacific Energy Consulting.<\/p>\n
\"And most of the incremental demand is fueled by South Korea,\"
\nTronner said.<\/p>\n
Osprey's plan to buy Gotaas-Larsen for US$750 million,
\nannounced on Tuesday, would make it a leading operator of LNG
\ntransportation in Asia where demand is growing fastest.<\/p>\n
The acquisition would include a total of nine vessels -- four
\nLNG vessels, four very large crude carriers (VLCC) and the
\nremaining half share in an LNG carrier.<\/p>\n
Cottew said Japan, Asia's largest gas consumer, has become a
\nmature market and one where transportation is dominated by the
\nJapanese. Osprey would not be targetting this market.<\/p>\n
Osprey, which saw 47.4 percent of its $85.7 million revenue
\ngenerated from outside of Singapore in 1996, would see this
\nincrease in 1997 with its latest acquisition, he said.<\/p>\n
Cottew was optimistic about the growth of the LNG chartering
\nmarket, which is currently very tight.<\/p>\n
He was confident Osprey would be able to commit quickly its
\none unemployed LNG carrier \"in a fairly short space in time\".<\/p>\n
This was because Osprey intended to tender for a short-term
\nSouth Korean contract to deliver LNG to Korea Gas Corp. The
\ntender is expected within the next two to three months.<\/p>\n
South Korea, which has been importing LNG from Indonesia since
\nthe late 1980s, saw contractual demand surge to over 10 million
\ntons a year from about two million tons in 1996, Cottew said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's state-owned oil company Pertamina is the world's
\nLNG exporter with an annual shipment of more than 24 million
\ntons, mainly to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.<\/p>\n
Discussions for new short-term LNG vessel charter rates were
\nexpected to be 50-60 percent above last year, given the tight
\nsupply, he said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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