Oil & gas glut post 2014

The global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market is currently oversupplied and stricken with low demand and prices.

LNG makes up about 10 per cent of the current total natural gas market demand, with about 241 million ton per year (mtpa) (332 bcm). China, South Korea and Japan were responsible for approximately 60 per cent of global LNG imports in 2014. Forecasts from Accenture indicate that the LNG market will grow to ~500 mtpa (~680 bcm) by 2030 and will represent 16 per cent of the global natural gas market demand by 2030 (Accenture, p. 6).

Global gas demand growth, however, has weakened considerably. The fall in gas prices has been the most dramatic in Asia. In June 2016, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its 2016 Medium-Term Gas Market Report. The report claimed that energy policies have largely failed to deliver the promised Golden Age of natural gas. The use of LNG for power generation is challenged with coal proving resilient, more nuclear, the costs of renewables falling, and planned pipeline gas imports into China.

References:

• Accenture, “Gas grows up, part I: developing new sources of LNG demand,” 2016.
• International Energy Agency (IEA). Medium-term gas market report 2016 (Paris, France: OECD/IEA, 2016).