BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.31
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
In 2022 global LNG trade growth is projected to slow to 4 percent as the demand expansion in Asia during 2021 moderates and the drought-driven rise in South American imports reverses, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“Asia accounts for all net growth in LNG imports. China remains the single largest country contributor to import growth, but its growth rate drops to 9% in 2022 due to the ramp-up of pipeline flows from Russia and the overall slowdown in gas demand growth. India’s LNG imports are projected to return to their 2020 levels after a temporary dip in 2021, and register a 12 percent increase in 2022. LNG inflows to emerging Asia are set to expand by 27%, driven by the region’s post-COVID demand recovery, domestic production declines and planned import capacity additions. European inflows are also expected to remain elevated in 2022 – although likely below 2019-2021 levels – to meet the region’s high restocking needs,” reads the report.
IEA notes that in 2021 global LNG trade expanded by 6 percent, a sharp acceleration from the 2020 growth rate of just 1 percent.
“LNG import growth in 2021 was led by Asia, which experienced cold weather and a strong economic recovery. China’s imports were up by 17 percent, overtaking Japan for the first time as the world's largest LNG importer, and Korea’s were up by 14 percent. India’s LNG imports declined by 11 percent, but this was largely offset by growth in Bangladesh (up 31 percent), Pakistan (up 16 percent) and Thailand (up 16 percent), fueled by strong power demand and economic activity. Central and South America was also a key growth driver (up 69 percent) due to a severe drought in Brazil, which led to a more than threefold increase in LNG imports there,” the report says.
IEA notes that European inflows declined by 5 percent as strong demand in Asia drew cargoes away. North America continued to lead global LNG export growth with a 51 percent increase in 2021.
“Exports from Australia grew by 3 percent (despite continuing outages), while deliveries from Qatar and Russia remained broadly stable at elevated levels. Egypt registered a more than fourfold increase in LNG outflows thanks to the restart of exports from Damietta. The biggest export declines occurred in Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria and Norway,” reads the report.
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