LNG demand will keep growing to 2030 and beyond, says Qatar’s energy minister

• Growing populations will need 'reasonably priced power'
• Qatar's ambition comes after COP28 pledge to move away from fossil fuels 

Global demand for LNG will remain strong until 2030 and beyond, said Qatar’s Energy Minister, as the country ploughs ahead with a multi-billion-dollar LNG expansion plan.

Qatar is the world’s second-largest LNG exporter, after the United States. In February the Middle Eastern country announced plans to massively scale up its LNG exports, just weeks after the US President Joe Biden announced a pause on new LNG export licences in America.

“We are very bullish on the demand going forward,” said Qatar’s energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi. “If we have reasonable economic growth going forward, I think you will see the supply and demand catching up and you’ll need another phase of development in gas in 2030 plus. I don’t think gas is going away anytime soon.”

The planet's growing population will need access to "reasonably priced power" making LNG's future role vital, argued Al-Kaabi, who is also president and CEO of QatarEnergy. His view is backed up by the G7 and countries which have seemingly u-turned on their desire for LNG, he added. 

“In the past they were saying no more gas, no more fossil fuels,” he said at a panel discussion at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. “Now they are saying we need more LNG and a lot of countries are taking a 180-degree turn.”

Europe increased its demand for LNG as a reliable energy source following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the shock to the global energy markets.

Qatar’s booming LNG ambitions come months after global leaders agreed to work towards a “transition away from fossil fuels” during the UN climate change conference COP28 held in Dubai in December 2023.

Al-Kaabi's projection that LNG demand will continue to grow is "accurate" and in line with US Environment Information Administration projections, Aurelien Saussay, London School of Economics Assistant Professor of Environmental Economics and member of the French Council of Economic Advisors, told Gas Matters Today. 

"But it remains very bad news for the planet because LNG is probably the most carbon emissions intensive variant of natural gas due to the multiple steps needed to liquefy, transport and regasify it," he said. 

He added that significant infrastructure investment needed to build LNG terminals means there is a risk of countries prolonging their natural gas use over the coming decades as they strive to amortize the investment.

In February, Qatar Energy announced plans to ramp up its LNG capacity by 85% to 142 million metric tons of gas per annum by 2030. The country is targeting Asian markets including the developing economies of Thailand, Bangladesh and India.

Last month, Qatar signed the world’s largest shipbuilding contract with China and placed an order for 18 supersize LNG carriers.- HQ