Gas consumption is forecast to contract slightly this year due to high prices and Russian cuts to Europe, with only slow growth over the coming years as consumers switch to alternatives, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday.
IEA chopped its forecast for global gas demand by more than half in its latest quarterly report on gas markets.
It now expects growth of just 3.4 percent by 2025, an increase of 140 billion cubic meters (bcm) from last year’s levels, which is less than the 175 bcm jump in demand registered last year alone.
Photo: Reuters
“The consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global gas prices and supply tensions, as well as its repercussions on the longer-term economic outlook, are reshaping the outlook for natural gas,” the IEA said.
“Today’s record prices and supply disruptions are damaging the reputation of natural gas as a reliable and affordable energy source, casting uncertainty on its prospects, particularly in developing countries where it had been expected to play a growing role in meeting rising energy demand and energy transition goals,” it added.
While Russia has cut supplies to Europe, and European nations have pledged to wean themselves off Russian gas, the impact quickly rippled throughout the world.
European states are trying to make up the shortfall by importing more liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped by tanker, which the IEA said is creating supply tensions and leading to demand destruction in other markets.
The agency warned that the scramble for LNG risked not only causing economic harm to other more price-sensitive importers, but pushing up prices and thus contributing to additional revenues for Russia.
“In this context, an accelerated phaseout of Russian gas should primarily focus on reducing gas demand and scaling up domestically produced low-carbon gases,” such as biogas, biomethane and green hydrogen, it said.
The IEA, which advises energy importing nations on policy, said in its new forecast for lower gas demand growth that only one-fifth of the reduction came from expected efficiency gains and substituting renewables for gas.
“Our forecast’s lower gas demand growth compared to last year does not guarantee an accelerated transition to net zero emissions, as the bulk of the revision comes from lower GDP and fuel switching rather than by faster gas-to-electricity conversion and efficiency gains,” the report said.
The IEA said additional green energy transition measures would, in addition to their long-term impact in reducing emissions, ease pressure on gas prices globally by reducing supply tensions while also delivering short-term improvements in air quality by quickening the move away from coal.
“The most sustainable response to today’s global energy crisis is stronger efforts and policies to use energy more efficiently and to accelerate clean energy transitions,” IEA director for energy markets and security Keisuke Sadamori said in a statement.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
RSS