SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The latest quarterly Gas Market Report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that global demand growth for natural gas is set to accelerate in 2026, following a slowdown reported in the current year.
According to the report, a number of factors, including a decline in Russian piped gas exports to the EU region and a comparatively modest increase in Europe's output of liquefied natural gas (LNG), contributed to the tight market fundamentals in the first half of 2025.
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Given the high level of macroeconomic uncertainty, it is anticipated that the growth in the global demand for natural gas will slow from 2.8% in 2024 to about 1.3% in 2025. North America and Europe will be the primary drivers of this. In the meantime, the Asia-Pacific region's consumption growth fell to its lowest level since 2022.
According to the IEA, global demand growth will resume in 2026 and pick up speed, reaching about 2%. The worldwide supply of LNG is predicted to increase by 7% in 2026 as a result of new projects coming online in the US, Canada, and Qatar.
In accordance with the report, during the first half of 2025, Europe's use of natural gas rose 6.5% annually. Additionally, compared to the same period last year, the demand for natural gas rose by an estimated 2.5 percent. On the other hand, China's demand for natural gas decreased by an estimated 1% annually.
