The world's largest trader of LNG pinned last year's decline on 'constrained new supply development', but Shell forecasts that more than 170million tonnes of new LNG supply is set to be available by 2030.
Tom Summers, senior vice president for Shell LNG marketing and trading, said: 'Upgraded forecasts show that the world will need more gas for power generation, heating and cooling, industry and transport to meet development and decarbonisation goals,.
Shell's renewed bullishness on LNG comes despite a disappointing year for demand, which grew by just 3million tonnes in 2024 – marking the lowest annual supply addition for a decade.
The energy giant on Tuesday said it now expects liquified natural gas demand to reach 630million to 718million tonnes a year by 2040, up from the 407million tonnes used in 2024.
But Shell expects longer-term LNG demand to be driven by Asian economic growth, the need to decarbonise heavy industry and transport, and the emerging growth in the energy-intense tech sector.
