LNG was a niche and nascent market in 2005 and was heavily dominated with long term contracts (more than 95% of all LNG was based on long term contracts), long term was also economically defendable as it was indexed to prevalent alternate fuel sources, as there was primarily only 1 large supplier in the market, i.e. Qatar. LNG long-term contract protects supplier investment of liquefication and ensures the security of supply of buyer as LNG pass from international waters, unlike pipeline which may be prone to geopolitical influence.
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