Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK)

[ogbull]

Europe's Rise in Natural Gas Demand Means More LNG

“As 2016 progresses, Europe is set to take on an increasingly important role as the LNG market of last resort. The liquid NW European hubs at NBP and TTF will set the price benchmark for surplus cargoes as LNG export volumes ramp up from new Australian and U.S. liquefaction terminals,” Timera Energy

One of the great debates in the energy arena today is Europe’s future demand for natural gas, the world’s fastest growing major fuel for both use and trade. This is especially important for the U.S. LNG business looking to export more gas to Europe to buffer Russian influence. Gazprom delivers about 33% of Europe’s gas.

Europe uses 47-50 Bcf/day of gas, and imports almost half of that. Europe’s is the world’s biggest gas importer, and future demand is a really big deal because emerging U.S. LNG export potential could target Europe than more distant Asia. Gas prices have essentially converged all over (here), reducing arbitrage opportunities and explaining “Spain to receive 15 LNG cargoes in July, reload none.”

Gas demand in Europe was up 4-5% in 2015. Unwisely, some are using the recent decline in gas demand in Europe to insist that more efficiency and more renewables simply mean that Europe doesn’t need more gas infrastructure, like pipelines, inter-connectors, and LNG infrastructure, all especially vital to moving imported LNG into Spain/Portugal eastward to lower Russian dependence.

But, we know the truth: the International Energy Agency reports that Europe needs to invest $40 billion in natural gas supply each year. With the worst gas security rankings in the world (here), the European Commission knows the importance of more gas infrastructure: “Liquefied Natural Gas and gas storage will boost European Union’s energy security.”

The fact is that Russia will continue to thrive as Europe continues to enact unrealistic energy policies that ignore the physical, economical, and technical realities and limitations of renewables. Despite a concerted effort to reduce it, Europe’s reliance on Russia has “significantly increased,” although the dependence on Ukraine as a transit country has fallen (here).


http://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2016/06/19/europes-rise-in-natural-gas-demand-means-more-lng/#2b04e3716e5d