Natural gas is a triple-A resource – it is abundant, available, and affordable. Its carbon emissions are about half those of coal, being at the same time cheaper than renewables to boot. The sharp rise in production of gas from shale rock formations in the United States has led to a supply boom, fuelling in turn export capacity investments.
However, experts agree that the very same triple-As have led to an LNG supply glut. Producers are already seeing an unfavourable supply-demand relation, and they are likely to face even more challenges in the coming years.
The need to bring conventional gas reserves to the global market has driven the demand for LNG. In 2002, LNG represented 7% of the total natural gas supply, jumping up to 16% in 2015. According to the International Energy Agency, demand will rise 1.4% per year from 2013 through 2025, as compared to a 0.4% growth for coal and 0.6% for oil.
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