IEA Cuts Gas Use Outlook Again as Glut Seen to End of Decade
- Gas use in power generation slows, especially in the U.S.
- All eyes on China: stalling consumption may prolong oversupply
A gas ring burns on a stove in London, U.K., on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. Electricity and gas supply plunged 4.9 percent, as the warmest October since 2006 curbed energy demand.
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/BloombergWhile oil markets will start re-balancing after a slump next year, an oversupply in natural gas won’t disappear until the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency said, slashing its gas demand outlook for a fourth straight year.
Global consumption will expand by 1.5 percent annually from 2015 through 2021, down from last year’s forecast of 2 percent growth from 2014 through 2020 and a 2.5 gain over the prior six years, the Paris-based agency said Wednesday in its Medium-Term Gas Market Report. The slowdown will be driven by weaker use in the U.S. and Japan as the fuel struggles to compete against booming renewables and “very cheap” coal in power generation.