By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in its latest study named Global Gas Outlook 2050 revealed that Qatar will continue to be one of the main sources of global gas production growth in the future, local media reported Tuesday.
Qatar is currently one of the leading producers and suppliers of natural gas in the world, and the Doha-based forum presented its study by forecasting the global gas outlook for over the next 30 years.
According to the study, the Middle East, with almost 17 percent of global gas production, is the third-largest gas exporter worldwide after North America and Eurasia and Qatar is a leading producer from the region.
The study revealed that the Middle East region produced around 660 billion cubic meters (bcm) natural gas in 2018, which was 5 percent higher on the year-on-year basis.
While Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia have been the main sources of the growth, said the report.
The GECF hoped that natural gas production by the Middle East region would rise to more than 1.1 trillion cubic meters (tcm) by 2050 and by also increasing its global share to 18 percent.
Regarding the gas production in the GECF countries, the report underlined the importance of the group and said the production will grow by almost 50 percent by 2050.
The United States, Australia, Qatar, Russia and Mozambique are likely to emerge as the leading states in growth in export capacity, said the study, adding that the LNG sector is expected to grow at 2.9 percent by 2050, while pipeline trade will expand more slowly at a rate of 1.2 percent per annum till 2050.
The report also noted that energy markets would undergo significant transformations over the next three decades, as energy accessibility will unlock almost 30 percent of additional energy demand.
The analysts feared that the economy would grow more slowly under many risks to economic growth over the next several years, which can affect the demand of natural gas.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)