Price adjustments in the gas markets caused by a drop in oil quotations hadn’t affected the dominant position of Asia-Pacific as a driver of growing global gas consumption. Following the expert reviews, by 2025 the region’s demand for imported gas might grow 1.5 times from present 280 billion cubic meters to over 400 billion cubic meters a year.

China’s $40 billion Silk Road Fund said it would finance part of the project, a development Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné called “a clear commitment by China” in an interview Wednesday. The price paid for Silk Road’s 9.9% stake in Yamal wasn’t disclosed.

Changing dynamics in the global LNG market hint at a stronger role of European markets, and a decreased interest of American players given a minimal growth of the global markets, which are expected to increase 'only' between 2.1 and 2.5% in 2015.

LNG imports by 10 nations in the region that receive the tanker-delivered fuel dropped 3.4% from a year earlier in August, after reaching a two-year high in March, according to data from Genscape. Russian pipeline supplies soared about 20% from a year earlier in August, remaining at the highest level this year, tracking declining crude prices, according to data from Gazprom, the world’s biggest gas producer.

After winning a key platform construction contract from Statoil in June, Norway’s Kvaerner is reportedly working to enter into the LNG business with floating near-shore liquefaction barges designed for operations in the Arctic. Doing so, Kvaerner could increase its clout in Russia.

During the quarter, Apache closed the sales of its LNG business, and remaining oil and gas assets in Australia . “Exiting these businesses eliminated our exposure to projects with large capital-spending commitments and uncertain project timing,” said John J. Christmann IV, Apache chief executive officer.

The total U.S. trade deficit peaked at $762 billion in 2006, prior to the surge in U.S. oil and natural gas production. By 2014, it had dropped to $508 billion.

The United States is now the world’s leading producer of natural gas. With LNG exports scheduled to begin within the next six months, America’s oil and gas renaissance will soon provide both substantial domestic and foreign economic benefits. If US LNG can be imported into regions where there is only a single, monopolistic producer, then strategic benefits could accrue as well.

US LNG export projects face an uncertain future despite continued discoveries and production growth, a Brookings Institution analyst said. “More liquefaction capacity may be coming than markets can absorb,” warned Tim Boersma, acting director of Brookings’s Energy Security and Climate Initiative.

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Japan, South Korea, and China, the three largest global importers, all located in the Asia Pacific region, have declined by an average 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) (6.7%) in the first five months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.