MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts in its natural gas market report that the global gas demand will drop by 1.5% in 2026 due to the Middle East conflict.
The international gas demand is expected to decline by almost 65 bln cubic meters or by about 1.5%, which will be the third annual drop over the last decade, according to the report. The natural gas demand this year will therefore total 4.22 trillion cubic meters against 4.29 trillion cubic meters in 2025.
The global gas consumption already contracted by more than 1% or by 35 bln cubic meters over nine months of this year, driven by the demand drop in the Middle East and smaller gas consumption in key liquefied natural gas import markets in Asia and Europe due to the price hike. Rising gas prices stimulated the transition from gas to coal in many Asian markets and also adversely affected gas consumption in energy-and gas-intensive industries, such as fertilizer production.
Overall, in 2026, gas demand in Europe will drop by 3% due to increased electricity generation from renewable energy sources and higher gas prices.
In North America, gas consumption will gain 0.5%. Gas demand in Asia will contract by 1.5%. In the Middle East, gas consumption will fall by 10% due to the military conflict.
In Eurasia, on the contrary, demand will increase by more than 1.5%. In Africa, gas demand is projected to grow by 5%, while in Central and South America it will had an uptick by 1%.