World Natural Gas: Demand, Supply and Trade to 2035

The CGES expects global natural gas demand to grow at an annual average rate of 1.8% between 2010 and 2035, rising from a reported 3.17 tcm in 2010 to 5.05 tcm by 2035 (see Figure 4.3). This growth rate is around half a percentage point lower than the annual average growth rate in global gas demand witnessed during the period 1991-2010, based on data published in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. 

The factors driving this growth figure can be summarised as follows: 

• Aggressive gas usage plans in China and India;

• The emergence of domestic shale gas as a preferred fuel source in the US;

• The discovery and utilisation of gas resources in Latin America;

• The move away from nuclear power in Japan and some European countries in response to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident;

• Europe’s continued process of greenhouse gas emissions reduction;

• Russian plans to gasify its Far Eastern region;

• The search of shale and other unconventional gas resources in currently gas-poor countries.

World Natural Gas: Demand, Supply and Trade to 2035 Study