Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) will increase by 60% by 2040, Shell predicts.
Ekonomichna Pravda reported this with reference to the Financial Times.
According to Shell's annual forecast, which is based on estimates from analytical companies Wood Mackenzie and S&P Global Commodity Insights, the new figure is 10% higher than last year's forecast for the same period.
The largest growth in demand is expected in China and India.
"Global LNG trade will increase significantly by 2040 due to economic growth in Asia, the need to decarbonize heavy industry and transport, as well as the growth of the energy-intensive technology sector," Shell said.
China, the world's largest importer of LNG, is actively expanding its gas delivery infrastructure and plans to connect another 150 million people to gas pipelines by 2030.
India is also upgrading its system to supply 30 million consumers with gas in the next five years.
Demand for LNG has increased since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
European countries have become key buyers of liquefied gas to compensate for reduced supplies from russia, which has led to competition with Asia for scarce resources.
Europe will remain a large consumer of LNG well into the 2030s.
“The continent will continue to need LNG to balance the growing share of volatile renewables and ensure energy security,” Shell said.
European countries, including Germany, have been actively developing LNG import infrastructure during the energy crisis.
Shell predicts that in the future this capacity could be used to import bio- or synthetic LNG, as well as “green” hydrogen.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the volume of gas in the European Union's storage facilities in February 2025 is about 24 billion cubic meters, which is 36% less than at this time last year.
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