MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. The "golden age" of gas in the world is coming to an end amid declining demand, the International Energy Agency believes.
"The "Golden Age of Gas", a term coined by the IEA in 2011, is nearing an end. Global natural gas use has increased by an annual average of almost 2% since 2011, but growth slows in the STEPS to less than 0.4% per year from now until 2030," according to the IAE’s World Energy Outlook 2023.
Subdued demand in construction and energy sectors, which are the world's largest consumers of gas, is sufficient to reach peak consumption by 2030, the agency said.
"The high point for natural gas power capacity additions was in 2002, when they exceeded 100 GW and made up around 65% of total annual capacity additions. Capacity additions fell to less than 30 GW in 2022," the report says.
However, installed global gas capacity continues to increase, the report said. However, the IEA forecasts gas demand in the generation sector will continue to decline until 2050, with a particularly pronounced decline in the 2030s, while sales of gas boilers for space heating have also peaked.
"In advanced economies, the rebound in natural gas demand seen in 2021 did not last long, and demand in 2022 was below pre-pandemic levels. <…> Demand continues to decline in the STEPS, and by 2030 this more than offsets continued demand growth in emerging market and developing economies," the agency notes.