Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) grew by 12.5% to 359 million tonnes in 2019, according to Shell’s latest annual LNG Outlook – a significant increase that bolsters LNG’s growing role in the transition to a lower-carbon energy system.

LNG Outlook 2020

The Shell LNG Outlook, now in its fourth year, highlights key trends in 2019. It finds that global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) grew by 12.5% to 359 million tonnes in 2019, a significant increase that bolsters LNG’s growing role in the transition to a lower-carbon energy system.

Europe absorbed the majority of 2019 supply growth as competitively-priced LNG furthered coal-to-gas switching in the power sector and replaced declining domestic gas production and pipeline gas imports. There was a modest rise in imports to Asia in 2019, compared to the previous two years, a result of mild weather and rising electricity generation from nuclear power in Japan and South Korea, two of the three largest global importers.

In the short-term, supply growth is expected to slow down as the last of the new LNG projects under construction will be completed by 2021, restoring equilibrium.

Longer-term demand is expected to double to 700 million tonnes by 2040 according to forecasts, spurring confidence in the role of gas in shaping a lower-carbon energy system.

Source: SHELL