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Europe's long term LNG agreements will not fill demand-supply gap-Shell

The longterm liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts that Europe has actually signed so far will not fill a demandsupply space for the rest of this decade, a. senior Shell executive said on Wednesday.

Record LNG volumes to change curtailed gas flows from. Russia due to its intrusion of Ukraine have helped Europe weather. 2 winters so far. However, the majority of the EU purchases of the. super-chilled fuel were mostly on the area market.

In contrast, Asia has continued to pull ahead in the. race for limited worldwide LNG supply before brand-new flows enter. the market in 2025 and beyond by protecting more long-term. agreements.

Europe has in fact begun to sign long-term energy. agreements over the last number of years. However the long-lasting. contracts that are signed don't fill the hole, Steve Hill,. executive vice president for Shell Energy, informed experts on a. call following the company's yearly LNG outlook report.

We still see a structural scarcity of 50 to 70 mln. ( metric) lots a year for the rest of the decade or more that. Europe needs to protect, he included.

Previously on Wednesday, Shell, the world's biggest LNG. trader,

stated

that need for LNG peaked in some areas in the 2010s -. such as Europe, Japan and Australia - however it continues to increase. globally, and is expected to reach around 625-685 million loads. each year in 2040.

Hill explained that although gas demand is declining. in Europe, domestic gas production and pipeline imports are. decreasing at even faster rates so the space between demand and. supply will be quite consistent for the rest of the years.

The United States has become the biggest exporter of LNG. to Europee. Over 60% of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe over the. last two years. U.S. LNG contracts are done on a free-on-board. ( FOB) open basis without any limitations on destination.

A lot of the LNG agreements that the continent has. bought are contracts where the LNG might not always end. up in Europe, as they are either FOB purchases (where the. cargoes could go anywhere) or delivery purchases where the. seller has diverted the freights to other markets, Hill said.

He added that there was a 10% reduction in European. need for gas in 2023, including that the commercial need has. bottomed out which demand should start to recuperate.

(source: Reuters)