Angus Walker, Ernst & Young Oil and Gas National Leader in Australia, in the paper "Towards Greater Cross Border Trade In Gas", presented at the World Energy Congress on 13 November, describes how markets predominantly in the Asia Pacific region are growing more and more disconcerted, adding risks and corroding relationships that are necessary for the stability of the market.

According to the International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook 2006, it is expected that global energy demand will increase by approximately 50%, whereas liquefied natural gas demand will quadruple over the next 25 years.

Since gas markets go globally, pressure on the gas supply chain is unprecedented. Foreign policy and energy policy are merging in innovative ways and are placing shocks into a system already finding it difficult to find its feet. Angus Walker says, "We are concerned that market volatility is threatening to further misalign key supply chain interfaces and is increasing the probability of supply failure."

Suppliers are finding it hard to evaluate and price the exploration of upstream resources. With the increase in fiscal pressure, control is also increasingly shifting from international to local companies. In other countries, opposition to development on environmental terms is successfully obstructing access to the most lucrative market of the world. Ernst & Young paper, "Towards Greater Cross Border Trade In Gas", questions what can be done to improve the investment climate and support critical supply interfaces.

The paper also considers how local gas markets can make sure that their development is aligned with the globalization of the gas market. The paper advises that issues for consideration must integrate how regulatory frameworks might be blended with energy and foreign policy in a superior way, and it also recommends what can be done so that more liquid market delivers suitable price signals to attract the investment required to guarantee energy security.