Natural gas production in Qatar will grow despite a sharp drop in world prices. A very mild winter, low demand and an abundance of gas have caused US prices to plummet to historic lows. In addition, liquefied natural gas in Asia has reached the lowest prices in the last three years, while in Europe they are falling further and further, reaching 22 EUR/MWh, the same as before the energy crisis.
Qatar official: gas has a future at least 50 years from now
Amidst this massive drop in prices, Qatar wants to increase gas production. QatarEnergy chief Saad al-Kaabi said on Sunday that annual production would increase by 16 million tons, bringing total capacity to 142 million tons a year, Reuters reported.
Prices fell after hitting record highs in 2022 amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and cuts to Russian gas supplies to Europe. The supply shortfall was filled by US gas suppliers, which in 2023 became the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, overtaking Qatar.
Qatar’s announcement came shortly after US President Joe Biden’s decision to block approval of applications to build new US LNG export terminals.
Kaabi said Asian gas markets will grow and Europe will need more gas in the near future.
“We believe gas has a future at least 50 years from now,” Kaabi said. According to him, “Europe will need gas for a very, very long time. But growth in Asia will certainly be higher than in Europe, mainly due to population growth.”
By 2030, production from the North Field field in Qatar will increase from 77 million tonnes of liquefied gas per year to 142 million tonnes per year, an 85% increase in production.
Large volumes of gas in Europe and lower prices
Major gas producers around the world are scrambling to increase production amid concerns that the gas may not be needed in decades due to the energy transition.
On the eve of spring, the price of gas on international exchanges is decreasing, reaching on Monday the level of 22 euros/MWh on the TTF exchange in Amsterdam, a representative of the European market. Basically, it is at the level before the energy crisis, which was provoked by Russia.
The lower gas price is influenced by a large supply against the background of liquefied gas imports and the fact that gas storages are still full ahead of spring.
At the EU level, warehouses are 64.08% full. In Romania, we have 56.46% warehouse occupancy.
Source: Hot News
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