Analysts split on whether gas prices will remain high
The liquefied pure fuel (LNG) terminal on the Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai, China, on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Photos
Winter hasn’t even arrived, however gas prices have already soared to record highs in Europe and Asia on provide considerations, whereas several energy suppliers in the U.K. have collapsed.
Pure fuel provide is about to rise incrementally within the coming years, earlier than leaping in 2025, analysts instructed CNBC.
However analysts are divided on whether or not demand will proceed to outstrip provide in years to return.
The present fuel disaster will seemingly repeat itself once more, stated Richard Gorry, managing director of JBC Vitality Asia.
“This will likely be a disaster that’s reoccurring over the following three or 4 years — just because we do not have numerous new pure fuel provide coming into the market in that interval,” he instructed CNBC’s “Capital Connection” in mid-October.
“By 2025, the state of affairs could change, however I believe we undoubtedly have a few years the place we’ll be taking a look at excessive vitality costs,” he stated.
However James Whistler, world head of vitality derivatives at shipbroking agency Simpson Spence Younger, stated he would not count on costs to stay excessive past this winter.
“Are we going to be in an vitality disaster perpetually for the following three years? Completely not,” he instructed CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday.
“It is a short-term difficulty … come March or April subsequent yr, we’ll see rather more cheap costs beginning to come via once more,” he stated.
Pull towards clear vitality
Fuel demand is rising “fairly quickly” as international locations try to shift away from coal and oil, to cleaner energies, Gorry instructed CNBC once more this week. Meaning the world would not have sufficient fuel, and the market will likely be very tight for the following three years, he added.
Pure fuel is much less polluting than different conventional fuels.
Whereas he predicted that the present disaster will move round February or March, the market will seemingly tighten once more when subsequent yr’s winter season approaches and demand rises.
Even when a scarcity of fuel would not result in one other vitality disaster, it might trigger the world to fall again on coal and oil, stated Gavin Thompson, Asia Pacific vice chairman of vitality at Wooden Mackenzie.
In a bid to satisfy its electrical energy wants, the U.K. fired up an old coal power plant in September.
Thompson expects fuel to “function prominently” within the gradual transfer towards a cleaner vitality combine. Nonetheless, he stated producers are involved concerning the long-term way forward for fuel, and could also be underinvesting in provide.
If producers do not make investments sufficient, patrons could flip again to conventional fuels, he warned.
“That is a giant danger as a result of … slowing the tempo of the vitality transition will make 2030 targets, 2050 targets actually, actually tough to satisfy,” he stated.
‘Confluence of things’ in 2021
Different analysts predict that fuel provide within the coming years will be capable of meet demand.
Anthony Yuen, head of vitality technique at Citi Analysis, stated fuel provide is “getting higher.” He famous that main liquefied pure fuel export terminals are coming on-line and manufacturing is about to extend in Europe, Russia and China.
LNG export services cool pure fuel down right into a liquid state in order that it may be transported on ships to locations that can’t obtain the fuel by pipeline.
The crunch this yr was a results of a “confluence of things” — from low hydro power generation in Latin America to “very sturdy” demand for vitality, he stated.
He stated the interval of “actually excessive costs” might probably trigger a slowdown in demand progress, and questioned the place demand would develop shortly sufficient to outpace provide.
Nonetheless, he did not utterly rule out a repeat of the vitality disaster.
“By no means say by no means,” he instructed CNBC over a video name. “It partly is determined by [the] climate. However then, when you consider various provide and demand elements, the state of affairs most likely will likely be a lot better.”
Costs will seemingly development decrease after this winter, after which come down “rather more” in 2025 when various LNG export terminals come on-line, Yuen stated.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith and Chloe Taylor contributed to this report.