From the editor: Where next? Gas demand projections diverge hugely

Where next? Gas demand projections diverge hugely

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Natural Gas News
From the editor: Where next? Gas demand projections diverge hugely

Summary

By 2050, the world will be using 34% more gas than today, but it could also be using less than a fifth of current consumption. Never before have future outcomes been so starkly different. by: Ross McCracken

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) released its Global Gas Outlook 2050 in March, forecasting that global natural gas demand will rise from 4,015bn m3 in 2022 to 5,360bn m3 in 2050, an increase of 34%. LNG use and trade see particularly strong growth, more than doubling to reach 1,110bn m3 in 2050, making up 64% of the traded gas market. This stands in stark contrast to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2023 World Energy Outlook, which, based on current policies, foresees a peak in global gas demand by 2030 and then a limited decline, with gas consumption still a major part of the energy mix in 2050 at 4,173bn m3, but more than one fifth lower than the GECF projection. However, the IEA’s assumption is that policy globally becomes steadily more ambitious in terms of limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increasing the downward curve of gas demand already evide...