Shell has released its first “LNG Outlook”, an assessment of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. According to the outlook, global demand for liquefied natural gas reached 265 million tonnes in 2016, which is enough to supply power to around 500 million homes a year.
In particular, the outlook finds that total global demand for LNG has increased with the addition of six new importing countries since 2015: Colombia, Egypt, Jamaica, Jordan, Pakistan and Poland. China and India are two of the fastest growing buyers, with the number of LNG importers worldwide up to 35, from 10 at the start of the century.
The bulk of growth in LNG exports in 2016 came from Australia, where exports increased by 15 MT to a total of 44.3 MT. It was also a significant year for the USA, which delivered 2.9 MT from the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana.
“Global LNG trade demonstrated its flexibility time and again in 2016, responding to shortfalls in national and regional gas supply and to new emerging demand,” says Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director at Shell. “The outlook for LNG demand is set to grow at twice the rate of gas demand, at 4 to 5% a year between 2015 and 2030.”
The outlook says that, from 2020 to 2030, most new LNG demand growth will be driven by policy, floating storage regasification units (FSRUs), replacing declining domestic gas production and small scale LNG and transport.
LNG prices are expected to continue to be determined by factors including oil prices, global LNG supply and demand dynamics, as well as the cost of new LNG facilities.
In addition, it says that LNG trade is changing to meet the evolving needs of buyers, including shorter-term and lower-volume contracts.
Outlook Highlights
Shell further produced an infographic to depict the data referred in the Outlook
Further details may be found in the outlook herebelow:
Source & Image credit: Shell
