Renewables and natural gas are the big winners in the race to meet energy demand growth until 2040, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its World Energy Outlook 2016 report released Nov. 16.
“Natural gas continues to expand its role while the shares of coal and oil fall back,” said the report.
IEA forecasts the natural gas demand to grow on average by 1.5 percent per year and by almost 50 percent by 2040.
However, traditional concerns related to oil and gas supply remain and are reinforced by record falls in investment levels, according to the report.
“Gas consumption increases almost everywhere, with the main exception of Japan where it falls back as nuclear power is reintroduced,” said EIA. “China (where consumption grows by more than 400 billion cubic meters) and the Middle East are the largest sources of growth.”
The gas market is also changing with the share of LNG overtaking pipelines and growing to more than half of the global long-distance gas trade, up from a quarter in 2000.
“In an already well-supplied market, new LNG from Australia, the United States and elsewhere triggers a shift to more competitive markets and changes in contractual terms and pricing,” said IEA.
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