Energy analysts expect demand for liquefied natural gas in China and India to  surge from 10 million tons a year currently to 75 million tons a year in 2025 – more than sevenfold as the nations boost their use of cleaner-burning fuels.  According to calculations based on data compiled from Facts Global Energy, BP Plc and the International Energy Agency, LNG demand in China and India is already growing as much as nine times faster than that for crude. Further it is estimated that LNG consumption will grow 45 percent in China and 12 percent in India in 2011 from this year, according to Facts, an energy consultant.

China and India’s LNG imports are expected to rise manifold as demand outstrips supply. By next year India’s LNG demand growth is expected to exceed China’s. Anticipating LNG demand to rise, New Delhi and Beijing are both vociferously investing in LNG fields in Australia, Myanmar and Malaysia and Qatar. The two nations recently jointly invested in Myanmar’s gas pipeline. China currently has three LNG plants on stream, four under construction and two are planned. India currently has two LNG plants on stream, two under construction and another planned for, according to recent data.

As the two nations stabilize and get a grip of their economies, both China and India have been planning and projecting for future energy demands.  Both nations pressured for cleaner, greener fuel are replacing oil for LNG for both industrial and residential sectors. The projected demand for LNG is expected to spur prices and accelerate investments in LNG. More than US$140 billion is expected to be invested in construction of new LNG export plants between 2010 and 2015.

According to energy analysts,  coal is still here to stay for a few more years, while it will take sometime for nuclear fuel to be accepted and used for consumer needs.