CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN LNG

Poten & Partners’ Global LNG Outlook examines economic drivers for LNG supply and demand over the next 10 years Expectations of strong natural gas demand growth over the next decade –  combined with likely short-term strength as the global economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic –  have scrambled the outlook for project developers and buyers alike. IN QATAR For some suppliers like Qatar, the new landscape offers enough upside to justify large new investments in capacity that remains largely unsold. Qatar Petroleum, the world’s largest LNG supplier is just the latest global energy company to move ahead on expectations rather than a portfolio of signed long-term contracts. Projects backed by Shell (LNG Canada), and QP/ExxonMobil (Golden Pass), among others, already have been sanctioned without lining up a large end-user customer base first. But the decision by Qatar to go ahead with a four-train 32 million tpa North Field expansion is by far the largest bet on the future of LNG without the security that accompanies projects that are backed by long-term contracts to secure project finance. The Qatari decision – combined with suggestions that...