Despite the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic the global demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has remained resilient last year, Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General, Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) has said, The Peninsula.
Preparation
Talking about the upcoming 6th GECF Summit set to take place in Qatar this year, he said a comprehensive roadmap on the preparation and delivery of the Summit is in progress. The 6th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government is scheduled to take place in Qatar on November 18 this year.
“LNG has established itself as a major breakthrough in the global energy transition. Despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures that impacted energy demand as a whole and gas consumption in particular, the global LNG demand has been resilient in 2020, recording a growth by 1.5 percent (5 mt), to reach 359 mt,” Yury Sentyurin, told The Peninsula.
“The global LNG demand is expected to keep growing at a solid pace, with Asia as the main driver of LNG demand growth in coming years. According to the latest available figures available in the GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050, the share of traded LNG will increase to approximately 48 percent of all traded gas in 2030 and 56 percent in 2050, respectively. It is projected that over the Outlook period, 1,990 bcm out of around 5,920 bcm global natural gas demand will be imported,” he said.
Progress in natural gas
About the Summit he said 6th edition of the GECF Summit will, once again, take place at an important time for the natural gas world, as economic recovery and the said resource’s pivotal role in it will be in the spotlight.
“Having held five Summits so far, the GECF community has worked out a well thought-out and balanced composition of the event agenda. The Secretariat is in constant touch with the appointed national team from Qatar who are bringing their greatest energies and enthusiasm in planning and delivering the Summit,” Sentyurin said.
“At the moment, a comprehensive roadmap on the preparation and delivery of the Summit is in progress.
Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, one has to see if it will be feasible to hold the Summit in its physical form or virtually or in a blended model,” he added.
Hosting the event
Qatar, following a goodwill initiative by the country’s leadership, had announced its intention to host the event at the 21st GECF Ministerial Meeting in Moscow in 2019.
The first meeting to ensure the successful organisation of the 6th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government, was convened in last month.
The Summit is the Forum’s flagship event, which takes place on the level of Heads of State and Government every two years.
Previous Summits have taken place in Doha, Qatar (2011); Moscow, Russian Federation (2013); Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015); Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (2017); and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (2019). Algeria will host the 7th GECF Summit in 2023.
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Source: The Peninsula
