Back in 2011, the International Energy Agency talked about a potential “Golden Age of gas”. That suggestion attracted some derision, as the plunging costs of renewable energy and the persistent growth of coal use in parts of Asia seemed to be combining to choke off the potential for a significant shift in the global energy mix towards gas. Seven years on, the positive view of gas has been at least partially vindicated. Over 2010-17 its consumption grew faster than for any other fossil fuel, and its advantages in terms of flexibility, lower local pollution and potentially lower greenhouse gas emissions have a growing appeal for buyers in many parts of the world. The IEA’s latest report on the outlook for gas, published this week, predicts that global demand will grow by an average 1.6 per cent a year to 202 3; not massively different from the predicted annual average growth in oil consumption of about 1.4 per cent, but noticeably higher all the same. Demand growth is expected to be driven mainly by emerging Asian markets, and China in particular is critical.
FT 1st July 2018 read more »
