BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 21. Global liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies are forecast to increase by 4.5 percent, or 23 billion cubic meters (bcm), in 2023, Trend reports via the latest overview of European gas market from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
According to the report, this progressive growth will be mainly due the production ramp-up at the Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal and the return of of Freeport LNG in the US.
Moreover, African LNG supplies are expected to rise by close 10 bcm, amid improving feedgas availability in Algeria and Egypt, and the ramp-up of the Coral South and Congo FLNG plants, the agency added
At the same time, as the IEA projects, LNG flows to the EU in 2023 are expected to build up by about 9 percent, or 11 bcm, year-on-year, to 140 bcm, the agency said, adding that, this assumption is made considering a moderate recovery of 3 percent in Asian LNG imports.
"Higher LNG uptake will be facilitated by newly commissioned FSRU-based regasification plants in the Netherlands, Finland and Germany," the IEA noted.
However, conversely, unplanned blackouts could limit the growth in new LNG supply to well below 20 bcm in 2023, the report pointed out.
"The possibility of unexpected outages is heightened by high utilization levels of available capacity in recent years, alongside postponed maintenance at some facilities," the agency added.