The mood at this year's Gastech conference in Tokyo was, perhaps unsurprisingly, upbeat. Despite uncertainties and potential obstacles, of which there are always several on the horizon, most industry participants seem to think that we are about to enter the golden era of LNG. Global production is forecast to reach 292 mt in 2017, marking a significant increase of 34 mt compared to 2016.
Indeed, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. First, global demand is supported by continuously low LNG prices and high availability. Around fifteen new projects are expected to come online worldwide in the next four years, and existing supply is returning to market following planned or unplanned downtimes.
Secondly, there is a huge potential for gas in markets such as China, the world's largest consumer of energy, with the Chinese government targeting 15% of all energy use from gas (currently the number stands at 6%) by the end of the next decade. China is also forecast to overtake Korea as the world's second largest LNG import company.
First published in the July edition of Global Energy News. To read the full article, click here.