Natural gas to be fastest growing fossil fuel

LONDON – Natural gas is projected to be the fastest growing fossil fuel globally to 2030 at an average annual rate of 2,1 per cent, BP said yesterday.

BP said non-OECD countries would account for 80 per cent of the global rise in gas consumption, with growth averaging 2,9 per cent a year to 2030.The report also said that growth would be the fastest in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.’Global LNG supply is projected to grow 4,5 per cent per annum to 2030, more than twice as fast as total global gas production and faster than inter-regional pipeline trade [three per cent],’ the report said. BP added that LNG would contribute 25 per cent of global supply growth between 2010-2030, compared with 19 per cent for 1990-2010.The report said that Chinese gas use, at an annual growth rate of 7,6 per cent, would reach 46 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day in 2030, comparable to that of the European Union today.As for sectors, BP said gas use would grow fastest in the power sector at 2,4 per cent a year.Gas consumption in the industrial sector would grow by 2,1 per cent, according to the report.The world currently has enough gas reserves to cover 59 years of production at current levels, down from a forecast of 63 years in last year’s report, BP said.’The world had 6 609 tcf of proved gas reserves in 2010, sufficient for 59 years of production at current levels.’The report said that unconventional gas would account for 63 per cent of North American gas production by 2030 and that North America could become a LNG exporter of around five bcf per day by 2030.’In Europe we do not expect major unconventional production before 2020. The decline in conventional supply implies a growing import requirement for Europe, up by more than 60 per cent, from 26 bcf per day in 2010 to 42 bcf per day in 2030,’ BP said. – Nampa-Reuters