Global production of liquefied natural gas may increase by 3% year-on-year in 2024 and reach about 420 million tons, TASS quoted Andrey Ryabov, chief expert at the Fuel and Energy Complex analytical center, as saying.
According to Ryabov, Russia's share in the global market will exceed 9% due to the launch of the Arctic LNG - 2 project, which will increase LNG exports by 15%, or by 5 million tons.
The largest LNG exporting countries will maintain their positions in the market, but significant production growth is expected only in Russia and the United States, Ryabov noted.
In Russia, the launch of the first line of NOVATEK's Arctic LNG - 2 plant is expected this year, which will lead to an increase in liquefied natural gas exports to 38 million tons per year by the end of 2024.
According to the forecast, the United States will also increase its LNG exports by 4-5 million tons per year to about 90 million tons due to persistently high workload of existing liquefaction capacities. Qatar and Australia, according to the expert, will keep the volume of gas supplies at last year's level of about 79-80 million tons.
Ryabov said that in 2024, new countries such as Congo, Mexico, Senegal and Mauritania will enter the LNG market. These new market participants can additionally supply up to 3 million tons of liquefied natural gas in 2025.
At the same time, more significant changes are expected in the global LNG market in 2025: production may increase by another 30 million tons, which will triple the growth rate of 2024.
According to Ryabov, this will be due to the launch and increase in production at several plants in the United States, the peak performance of new projects by new players, the start of exports of liquefied natural gas from Canada and further production growth in Russia.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished