IEA: Global natural gas demand down slightly this year

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its quarterly report that soaring energy prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and concerns about supply disruptions are expected to lead to a drop in global natural gas demand this year and a slowdown in growth in the next three years.

The IEA expects global gas demand to fall by 0.5% this year. From 2021 to 2025, global natural gas demand will increase by 140 billion cubic meters, less than half of the previous five years. In the five years to 2020, global demand for natural gas increased by 370 billion cubic meters. The slowdown in natural gas demand growth reflects sluggish economic activity and a slowdown in the transition from coal and oil to gas due to soaring global gas prices.

On the other hand, as the EU plans to phase out imports of Russian gas by 2029, it is expected that by 2025 gas exports from Russia to the EU via pipeline will be more than 55% lower than in 2021.