A Shell report highlights the increasing demand for natural gas as the world transitions to cleaner energy sources.

Global demand for liquefied natural gas is estimated to rise by around 60% by 2040, driven largely by economic growth in Asia, AI impact and efforts to cut emissions in heavy industries and transportation,

The oil company cited strong interest in Asia for the supercooled gas as Sempra outlined plans to export gas from Texas.

The market saw significant volatility in 2024. Spot LNG prices fell to their lowest levels since early 2022 before rebounding mid-year due to project delays. Asia drove demand, with China importing 79 million tonnes and India’s imports rising 20% to 27 million tonnes as it battled extreme heat.

A milder-than-usual winter across north Asia has reduced demand, enabling European buyers to bid for LNG cargoes to replenish depleted inventories. Asia, the top-importing contine

Global demand in LNG will increase to 630mn-718mn tonnes by 2040, from 407mn tonnes last year, Shell said. Last year’s outlook pegged the demand at 625mn-685mn tonnes. More than 170mn tonnes of new LNG supply is expected to come online by 2030 to meet the rising demand, Shell added.

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Global demand for liquefied natural gas is estimated to rise by around 60% by 2040, driven largely by economic growth in Asia, AI impact and efforts to cut emissions in heavy industries and transportation, Shell said in an annual report on Tuesday.