WASHINGTON, Dec 16: Opec ministers and officials from other major energy producing countries will meet with the Bush administration this week to discuss the growing US thirst for imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel electric utilities and manufacturing.

With US natural gas production unable to keep up with domestic demand, more imports of the super-cooled gas will be needed over the next two decades to fill the growing gap.

The Bush administration invited 24 energy ministers from around the world to a two-day conference beginning on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi and six other Opec members are expected to attend, making it the largest gathering of cartel ministers in Washington in recent memory. Ministers from Opec members Venezuela, Nigeria, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and Algeria, as well as cartel President Abdullah al-Attiyah of Qatar, are also expected.

Non-Opec nations invited to the meeting that are major US energy suppliers, or have the potential to be, include: Russia, Mexico, Canada, Norway, Trinidad, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.

The ministers will discuss global gas resources, existing and proposed LNG supply projects, import and export terminals, transportation routes to North America, safety and security issues, and barriers to investment in the LNG market.

The conference comes at a time of high gas prices that have punished US manufacturers. Gas prices last week soared to a nine-month high above $7 per million British thermal units.

Many companies in the chemical sector, which uses gas to produce everything from plastics to fertilizer, have cut output because of high plant fuel prices. Some have moved production to countries like Trinidad, where gas is cheap and abundant.

Some 30 proposals have been unveiled in recent months to build LNG terminals to serve the US market. Several energy analysts say LNG could meet about 10 per cent of total US gas needs by 2010 — up from about two per cent today.

Currently, there are four LNG receiving terminals in Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia and Louisiana.

But not all analysts are convinced LNG will significantly boost its share of the overall US gas market.

“LNG is a very small portion of the gas consumed ... and I think in the future it will still be marginal. Terminals will have a difficult time getting built for economic and political reasons,” said Stephen Brown, an energy economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.—Reuters