Global Gas Demand Growth Hit by Europe’s Energy Crisis, IEA Says

(Bloomberg)

Global demand for natural gas will increase only marginally this year as declining use in Europe stifles a post-pandemic recovery in consumption of the fuel.Demand growth will slow to 0.9% after a 4.7% advance last year, the International Energy Agency said in its quarterly gas report. While use is expected to increase in Asia and North America, demand is predicted to slump sharply in Europe.The outlook shows how hard the energy crisis has hit Europe. Benchmark gas prices tripled last year, prompting utilities to switch to dirtier-burning coal and some industrial producers to cut their use of the fuel. Gas demand in the region is forecast to plunge 4.5% after gaining 5.5% last year, the agency said.

“Gas-fired power generation is expected to decline amid the strong expansion of renewables, while high gas prices continue to weigh on its competitiveness vis-a-vis coal-fired generation,” the IEA said.

A return to average weather conditions after an unusually cold spring in 2021 should also lower heating demand in Europe, which accounts for about 13% of global gas consumption, the agency said.

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Future supply remains a concern. After record outages at liquefied natural gas projects last year, new delays “could further limit supply availability in the next few years,” the IEA said.

“Delays are especially pronounced for projects that were initially targeting full capacity by 2024, including LNG Canada, Mozambique LNG and Golden Pass in the United States,” the IEA said.

Still, post-pandemic demand recovery meant global gas trade grew by a record last year, with pipeline gas flows surging 12% and LNG trade expanding by 6%.