Bloomberg: Five Questions for Europe's Gloomy Natural Gas Market in 2016

As the new year begins, Europe’s natural gas markets stand at the center of a web of geographic, financial and political factors that could reshape their future.

In 2015, natural gas prices declined as the result of an oversupply made worse by the falling cost of coal, rising use of renewables, better energy efficiency and the warmest year on record. The result: benchmark contracts had their first consecutive annual loss, ending the year at their lowest levels since 2009.

Now, amid a drop in Asian demand, Europe is becoming a more likely target destination for natural gas as the U.S. prepares to ship its first tankers of liquefied fuel from the shale boom, Australia expands its exports, forcing Middle Eastern suppliers to seek new customers, and Russia fights to maintain market share. MORE