Markets remain tight today. Yet in the coming years, the global natural gas market is poised to transition to a period of abundant supply – largely due to a record wave of expected new capacity to produce and export LNG.

 

Based on today’s plans, between 2025 and 2030, nearly 300 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year of new liquefaction capacity is set to arrive from projects that have already reached a final investment decision or are under construction, according to a recent update of the IEA’s Global LNG Capacity Tracker. This equates to adding around half of the total global LNG market today.

 

The outlook is subject to a range of uncertainties, from construction delays to new progress on projects that have been approved but are currently stalled. However, a capacity increase of this scale would have significant implications for global gas markets.

 

The growth is set to be led by the United States, Qatar and Canada. Together, projects in these countries account for around 80% of expected capacity additions to 2030.