Liquefied natural gas is projected to come into sharp focus worldwide in the future, as it is not only cost-effective but also clean and accessible compared to other energy sources, the former secretary-general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum said.
“LNG accounts for 25% of the global energy basket, which is predicted to reach 40% by 2040,” Mohammad Hossein Adeli was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.
Adeli added that as the fuel can be used as a bargaining chip, countries are opting to expand its shares in the gas market.
“Iran’s southern Arab neighbor Qatar is the largest LNG exporter in the world, whose volume reaches 75 million tons out of the total 280 million tons traded in international markets,” he said.
“Had Iran made substantial investment in the industry, it could have an upperhand under sanctions, as its leverage power would have been intensified.”
Soaring Demand
Stressing that demand for gas is soaring in Europe and China, Adeli said Europe’s dependence on Russian gas has increased in the past two decades while the Netherlands plans to halt extraction at the continent’s biggest gas field Groningen by 2030 to limit the danger posed by earthquakes.
According to the official, gas market developments show that some countries are increasing while some are reducing gas consumption.
“While China has decided to dramatically raise its gas consumption and India is decreasing coal use and moving toward gas consumption, Japan’s strategy is still not clear and it is fully exploiting nuclear energy,” he said.
Adeli said there is sufficient gas supply in the present market, though demand is growing at a slow pace compared to the past, which is boosting competitiveness among exporting countries.
He underscored that energy demand is forecast to rise by 30% until 2040, but reliance on fossil fuels will see a drop of 5% from the current 80%.
“The need for investment in the gas industry is very high and production is to rise across the world, especially in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and North America, which will remain the main suppliers,” he said.
Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran’s former representative to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, believes that Iran’s crude reserves are smaller than those of natural gas and will exhaust sooner or later, that is why new approaches should be adopted to take a better advantage of gas domestically and internationally.
Natural gas accounts for 70% of the country’s energy basket. Iran holds 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, the largest in the world ahead of Russia with 32.6 trillion cubic meters, according to BP estimates.
Iran plans to hold the First International Iran Gas Show (IRGS 2018) on Sept. 1-4 in Tehran, with about 200 local and foreign firms in attendance, the website of IRGS reported.
