Demand for shipments of liquefied natural gas from Asian economies that are the world’s biggest gas importers dropped in 2015, according to a report published Wednesday, including a first-ever decline in China. Shipments of LNG came to 245 million metric tons last year, or about 33 billion cubic feet a day, even as global production of the super-chilled natural gas rose 1.6% to 250 million metric tons, or 32 billion cubic feet a day, energy consultant Wood Mackenzie said in an annual report on the industry. The increase in supply comes amid a steep drop in spot market prices in Asia over the past year to below $7 per million British thermal units. Prices may remain depressed with the start of shipments this year from the U.S. Gulf Coast and a ramp-up in gas exports from Australia. Australia and the U.S. will help boost global LNG production by an […]