The increase in European demand raised prices and doubled the value of the global LNG market in 2022, reaching unprecedented levels of $450 billion, while the market size increased by only 6 percent.
The agency expects global market growth in 2023 to increase by an additional 4.3 percent.
“Europe has been the main driver of increased demand for LNG by moving away from Russian gas pipelines. LNG shipments to Europe increased by 63 percent last year,” the International Energy Agency said.
Thus, the quantities of liquefied natural gas imported by Europe increased by 66 billion cubic meters, according to the International Energy Agency, which benefited mainly the United States, as it provided two-thirds of this additional flow, or 43 billion cubic meters.
Europe relied on other suppliers to secure its needs, namely Qatar (5 billion cubic meters), Egypt (5), Norway (3), Angola (2), and Trinidad and Tobago (2). The International Energy Agency also confirmed Europe’s receipt of two billion cubic meters from Russia.
While the race for LNG peaked at the end of the year, storage sites were full, the winter was mild, and “more than 30 LNG-laden carriers” were waiting “to be attached to gasification facilities in Europe rather than head elsewhere to sell their cargo cheaper.” , according to the International Energy Agency.
In addition, the war in Ukraine increased the need for LNG terminals and tankers.
The demand for gas tankers more than doubled (+130 percent compared to 2021) and reached 165 orders in 2022, recording unprecedented levels, according to Refinitiv data cited by the International Energy Agency, indicating that Chinese shipyards received more than a third of global orders. .
In total, global gas consumption (from liquefied natural gas and gas pipelines) decreased by 1.6 percent in 2022, or 4,042 billion cubic meters. The International Energy Agency expected that the current year will witness a recession, pointing to the state of uncertainty that hangs over this market, especially the Chinese economy.
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