Defiant Shell remains bullish on LNG

Amid the gloom and doom of a supply glut and record low prices, the major, which controls more than one-fifth of the global LNG market, sees a bright future

Shell yesterday shrugged off concerns about the future of natural gas in a decarbonising world economy, forecasting that “as policy meets reality” global LNG trade will double to 700mn t/yr by 2040. It believes that demand for gas will grow by 2pc/yr driven by growing populations, rising energy demand, increasing urbanisation and the need to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality—and that 40pc of this projected growth over the next two decades will be supplied as LNG. Launching Shell’s annual LNG Outlook in London, Maarten Wetselaar, director of integrated gas and new energies, says the forecast—despite being bullish—holds significant upside. This is because it assumes that China and I