Shell predicts that global LNG demand will surge from 360 million tons in 2020 to 700 million tons by 2040. The reports are produced at the company’s annual LNG Outlook 2021. The demand surge is driven by the robust demand in Asia and increasing gas usage for powering hard-to-electrify segments.
The reports indicate that global LNG demand recorded growth to 360 million tons in 2020 compared to 358 million tons the year earlier. Furthermore, 75 percent of the expected LNG demand through 2040 will come from Asia.
Economies such as Japan, South Korea and China have already unveiled their carbon neutrality ambitions. China has targeted 2050, while Japan and South Korea has targeted 2050 to fulfil their goals. South Korea seeks to boost its clean energy generation capacity by 300 percent by 2030 and convert 24 coal-fired power plants to LNG.
Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director at Shell, told the media, “LNG provided flexible energy which the world needed during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating its resilience and ability to power people’s lives in these unprecedented times. LNG and natural gas will play a key role in delivering the energy the world will need to meet net-zero emission targets as gas burns cleaner than coal when used for electricity generation.”
China’s LNG demand has already rebounded from the pandemic’s effect and its imports last year were more than 2019. While, India boosted its LNG imports by 11 percent last year.