Korea Gas Corp., the nation’s sole liquefied natural gas provider, is expected to help shine the spotlight on Asia’s gas leadership by hosting the 2014 Gastech conference and exhibition.

It marks the first time for the world’s largest gathering of energy professionals in the gas industry to meet in East Asia, and will take place at KINTEX, an exhibition facility in Gyeonggi Province from March 24 to 27.

“The arrival of Gastech in Korea means that the global gas industry is paying closer attention to the roles of Korea and KOGAS in the future of gas,’’ KOGAS said in a press release.

Hosting the event is expected to give South Korea and its sole LNG provider KOGAS a chance to raise their visibility in the global gas industry at a time when gas is becoming an increasingly popular source of power generation.

This is partly because nuclear energy is still under scrutiny due to lingering safety concerns, while other renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, need more time to prove their reliability.

The Gastech organizer, dmg events, said it was a natural choice to pick KOGAS as the host for its first conference in East Asia.

“KOGAS was highly desirable as a host for the 2014 Gastech as it held a particularly symbolic position in the global industry as the world’s largest single Importer of LNG,’’ dmg said.

Korea, a country highly lacking in natural energy resources, has depended on gas to build its economy. During the three decades following its establishment in 1983, the state-run KOGAS has grown into the world’s largest corporate buyer of liquefied natural gas.

Currently, KOGAS imports approximately 35 million tons of LNG to Korea annually, and it has diversified its natural gas supply lines in order to ensure a timely and stable gas supply.



Becoming globally competitive



The company has improved its global competiveness in other gas business value chains beyond gas imports. KOGAS currently operates 60 LNG storage tanks that together boast the world’s largest storage capacity of 8.86 million kiloliters.

In addition, KOGAS distributes natural gas produced at its LNG terminals across Korea through a pipeline network spanning 4,065 kilometers to reach end users and power stations around the country.

Under the vision of growing into a global energy giant, KOGAS is participating in a number of international natural gas projects. At present, the company is involved in five gas and oil exploration projects and 10 development and production projects around the world.

The steady growth of KOGAS also has helped other Korean industrial giants to enter the global gas industry. The initial involvement was based around the LNG shipbuilding industry and this sector has now expanded to encompass offshore floating storage, regasification units and floating LNG liquefaction units.

“Korea is now a major player in the global gas industry. KOGAS will continue to expand its global networking and take a leadership role in the region, which will help Korea’s small and medium-sized firms discover future business opportunities,” an official from KOGAS said.

The official added that after the successful hosting of the 2014 Gastech conference, KOGAS will use the experience as a stepping stone to stage the World Gas Conference, which is the biggest and most important global gas industry event. Korea is now bidding to host the triennial event in 2021 in Daegu.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)