(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
Paris, 16th November 2017 (WAM) -- A new gas order is emerging, with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) helping to accelerate a shift towards a more flexible, liquid, global market, according to the World Energy Outlook (WEO-2017).
''The new gas order can bring dividends for gas security, although there is the risk of a hard landing for gas markets in the 2020s if uncertainty over the pace or direction of change deters new investments,'' the report noted.
''Ensuring that gas remains affordable and secure, beyond the current period of ample supply and lower prices, is critical for its long-term prospects. LNG accounts for almost 90% of the projected growth in long-distance gas trade to 2040: with few exceptions, most notably the route that opens up between Russia and China, major new pipelines struggle in a world that prizes the optionality of LNG, '' said the WEO-2017, the International Energy Agency's flagship publication.
Over the longer term, a larger and more liquid LNG market can compensate for reduced flexibility elsewhere in the energy system (for example, lower fuel-switching capacity in some countries as coal-fired generation is retired). We estimate that, in 2040, it would take around ten days for major importing regions to raise their import levels by 10%, a week less than it might take today in Europe, Japan and Korea.
The resurgence in oil and gas production from the United States, deep declines in the cost of renewables and growing electrification are changing the face of the global energy system and upending traditional ways of meeting energy demand, the report noted.
Natural gas grows to account for a quarter of global energy demand in the New Policies Scenario by 2040, becoming the second-largest fuel in the global mix after oil.
In resource-rich regions, such as the Middle East, the case for expanding gas use is relatively straightforward, especially when it can substitute for oil. In the United States, plentiful supplies maintain a strong share of gas-fired power in electricity generation through to 2040, even without national policies limiting the use of coal.
WAM/Tariq alfaham/Hassan Bashir
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