① Australian energy giant Woodside (Woodside) said that global liquefied natural gas (LNG) consumption is expected to increase by 50% in the next 10 years, and the company is considering further expanding its business; ② Australia is one of the world's largest LNG exporters, and Woodside is the country's largest LNG exporter.
Financial Services Association, Feb. 27 (Editor Xia Junxiong) On Tuesday (February 27) local time, Australian energy giant Woodside (Woodside) said that global liquefied natural gas (LNG) consumption is expected to increase by 50% in the next 10 years, and the company is considering further expanding its business.
Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of LNG, and Woodside is the country's largest LNG exporter.
Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill said in an interview on Tuesday: “We are seeing signs of increased demand in emerging markets in Asia. At some point in the future, we will see significant amounts of new supply emerging, but as demand grows in the next few years, these new supplies are likely to be digested.”
As the world transitions to clean energy, Woodside's estimate of the growth prospects for LNG demand is one of the most optimistic predictions in the industry.
Earlier this month, energy giant Shell predicted in its latest annual LNG outlook report that global LNG demand is expected to grow by more than 50% by 2040, with increased demand for natural gas in China, South Asia and Southeast Asia as the main driving force.
Qatar is also optimistic about LNG demand. The country announced on Sunday that it plans to increase annual production capacity by 13% on top of the previously announced capacity expansion plan. Qatar is competing with the US and Australia for the position of the world's largest LNG exporter.
US President Joe Biden announced the suspension of approval of new LNG export projects last month. O'Neill commented on this, saying that this has increased the uncertainty of the US as a supplier country.
“If the rules suddenly change without negotiation, this is a worrying sign for the market,” O'Neill said.
Woodside has long been open to further expanding its LNG business. The country previously discussed merger matters with Santos, another Australian energy company. If an agreement is reached, it will create one of the largest LNG producers in the Asia-Pacific region, but negotiations broke down earlier this month.
O'Neill said, “We see a bright future for LNG, so Santos is an opportunity to join the two LNG giants to form a bigger and more important force in the industry. We weren't able to close this deal, and that's OK because we have great assets in our portfolio.”