Global gas market reawakened by ‘Russia effect’

Industry takes fresh look at moribund, risky or questionable gas and LNG projects

The ‘Structures A and E’ project off the Libyan coast is as prosaic as its name implies, holding an unspectacular 6tn ft³ (170bn m³) of gas. Plans to extract it date from 2008, but the operator, Italy’s Eni, had been content to leave it in the ground given the upheaval in Libya. That upheaval has not gone away: the country has two rival governments, militias rule the capital and its National Oil Corporation is riven with infighting. But in January, Eni cast those worries aside and announced it was developing Structures A and E. One big reason is the ‘Russia effect’—Europe’s thirst for new gas following the imposition of sanctions on Moscow. Russia supplied half of Europe’s gas before its inv