Slump in LNG production partly to blame for gas price hike, says IEA
The steep rise in European gas prices has been driven by a combination of a strong recovery in demand and tighter-than-expected supply, as well as several weather-related factors, the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed.
However, the IEA said it was ‘misleading’ to blame the renewable fuels and clean energy for the price hike.
There were strong cold spells in East Asia and North America in the first quarter of this year.
In Asia, gas demand has remained strong throughout the year, primarily driven by China, but also by Japan and Korea.
On the supply side, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production worldwide has been lower than expected due to a series of unplanned outages and delays across the globe and delayed maintenance from 2020.
“Recent increases in global natural gas prices are the result of multiple factors, and it is inaccurate and misleading to lay the responsibility at the door of the clean energy transition,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
“Today’s situation is a reminder to governments, especially as we seek to accelerate clean energy transitions, of the importance of secure and affordable energy supplies – particularly for the most vulnerable people in our societies,” he added. “Well-managed clean energy transitions are a solution to the issues that we are seeing in gas and electricity markets today – not the cause of them.”
However, the IEA said it was ‘misleading’ to blame the renewable fuels and clean energy for the price hike.
There were strong cold spells in East Asia and North America in the first quarter of this year.
In Asia, gas demand has remained strong throughout the year, primarily driven by China, but also by Japan and Korea.
On the supply side, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production worldwide has been lower than expected due to a series of unplanned outages and delays across the globe and delayed maintenance from 2020.
“Recent increases in global natural gas prices are the result of multiple factors, and it is inaccurate and misleading to lay the responsibility at the door of the clean energy transition,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
“Today’s situation is a reminder to governments, especially as we seek to accelerate clean energy transitions, of the importance of secure and affordable energy supplies – particularly for the most vulnerable people in our societies,” he added. “Well-managed clean energy transitions are a solution to the issues that we are seeing in gas and electricity markets today – not the cause of them.”
