Shell predicts LNG market tightening
The world’s largest LNG portfolio player sees a market rebalancing on the horizon
Global LNG is “clearly a well-supplied market”, but Shell believes that the market dynamics could shift again over the next few years. “We do not use the term oversupply—as all of the LNG being produced is being absorbed,” a spokesman for the firm tells Petroleum Economist. But Shell’s supply-demand analysis suggest that the LNG market is “more than three-quarters through the rapid supply growth” coming from liquefaction projects that were sanctioned between 2011 and 2015. “After this we expect to see little new supply coming in and inevitable tightening of the market.” Shell analysts see a similar difference between the short and medium-term outlooks for demand. During 2017 and 2018 Asian
Also in this section
19 January 2026
Newfound optimism is emerging that a dormant exploration frontier could become a strategic energy play and—whisper it quietly—Europe’s next offshore opportunity
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
