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Asia boosts global demand for LNG

Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached 265 million tonnes in 2016 – enough to supply power to around 500 million homes a year.



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An increase in demand for LNG kept pace with supply across the world, as expected demand in Asia and the Middle East absorbed the increase in supply from Australia, according to Shell’s first LNG Outlook.

“Global LNG trade demonstrated its flexibility time and again in 2016, responding to shortfalls in national and regional gas supply and to new emerging demand,” said Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director at Shell.

China and India – which are set to continue driving a rise in demand – were two of the fastest growing buyers, increasing their imports by a combined 11.9 million tonnes (MT) of LNG in 2016. This boosted China’s LNG imports in 2016 to 27 MT and India’s to 20 MT.

Total global LNG demand increased following the addition of six new importing countries since 2015: Colombia, Egypt, Jamaica, Jordan, Pakistan and Poland. They brought the number of LNG importers to 35, up from around 10 at the start of this century.

Shell believes further investments will need to be made by the industry to meet growing demand, most of which is set to come from Asia, after 2020.

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