LNG demand to rise, but supply in question
There's a glut now, but future demand growth can support huge export capacity increases—if the massive investment needed is forthcoming
Nameplate export capacity for liquefied natural gas around the world reached around 290m tonnes a year by end-2017, with around 60m t/y of that added since early 2016. Around 40m t/y extra is planned for this year and about the same again next year. These are impressive stats, but they're largely the product of investment before 2014, when the oil price crash, the growing likelihood of US LNG exports and sluggish short-term demand growth turned off the funding taps for big non-US projects. Capacity additions scheduled to come on stream in 2020 are well below 5m t/y. If industry forecasts are to be believed, LNG capacity will need to double from current levels over the next 15-20 years to kee
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