BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 4. Global supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to increase by only 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said, Trend reports via the latest publication from the IEA.
World LNG supply will be mainly supported by the production increase of the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility in the US, and the Coral South LNG facility in Mozambique, as well as the return of the Freeport LNG facility in the US, the IEA projected.
According to the forecast, at the same time, this increase in LNG supplies will not be enough to offset the likely reduction in Russian pipeline gas supplies to the EU.
“Strong European demand for LNG led to a reconfiguration of global LNG flows as increases in LNG supply (23 bcm) were not sufficient to meet Europe’s rapidly rising LNG imports. Higher LNG flows towards Europe were enabled in part by China’s LNG imports falling by 20 percent (or 19 bcm) year-to-date as it drastically reduced spot procurements. Europe’s thirst for LNG also disrupted gas and electricity supply in more price-sensitive markets, including in South Asia,” the report said.
As the EU’s domestic gas production is set to decline, moreover, Chinese LNG imports could rebound next year, which will worsen the satiation for the EU’s gas market further, the IEA noted.
“China’s lower LNG imports in the first ten months of 2022 were a key enabler of higher LNG availability to Europe. A return to stronger Chinese economic growth and some easing of lockdowns could bring 2023 LNG imports back to their 2021 levels (108 bcm), which would capture over 85 percent of next year’s expected increase in global LNG supply and limit the amount of LNG available to the European market,” the report explained.
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