Qatar remains among top three LNG exporters globally: GECF

In October, global LNG exports rose by 1.8% y-o-y to reach at 34.62mn tonnes, marking highest level since March, according to Doha-headquartered GECF


By Pratap John

Business Editor
Qatar remains among the top three LNG exporters globally, according to the GECF report released yesterday.

In October, global LNG exports rose by 1.8% (0.63mn tonnes) y-o-y to reach at 34.62mn tonnes, marking the highest level since March this year, the Doha-headquartered Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) noted.

In October, Qatar, the US and Australia were the top three LNG exporters globally.

Last month, LNG exports from GECF Member and Observer countries saw a slight y-o-y decline of 0.3% (0.05mn tonnes), totalling 15.52mn tonnes, the report said.

The decrease was led by reduced exports from Algeria, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago, which offset increases from Malaysia and Qatar.

Algeria’s LNG exports declined in October due to planned maintenance at the Arzew LNG facility.

Peru shipped three LNG cargoes, two fewer than the same period in 2023 and half of September’s total.

Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s LNG exports fell due to reduced feedgas availability for LNG exports.

Conversely, Malaysia’s exports increased as feedgas availability to the Bintulu facility improved after repairs to the Sabah-Sarawak pipeline.

Furthermore, in Qatar, lower maintenance activity compared to the previous year contributed to higher LNG exports.

The Asia Pacific region was the primary market for GECF LNG, receiving 71% of its exports, followed by Europe at 23%, and both Latin America and the Mena region at 3% each.

From January to October 2024, GECF’s LNG exports totalled 160.31mn tonnes, reflecting a slight y-o-y increase of 1% (1.53mn tonnes).

For the period, global LNG exports stood at 341.83mn tonnes, representing an increase of 1.5% (5.15mn tonnes) y-o-y, driven by stronger exports from both GECF and non-GECF countries.

The projected growth in global gas consumption for 2024 has been revised upwards to 2.3%.

This revision is primarily due to a faster-than-expected increase in gas consumption in key consuming countries, which together account for 60% of global gas demand.

In the first nine months of 2024, gas consumption in these countries rose by 2.8% y-o-y, reaching 1,798 bcm.

The growth was primarily driven by Asia and North America, while the EU and the UK experienced declines.

There were 523 LNG cargoes exported in October, which was one cargo less than a year ago, according to GECF. Moreover, this represented a 2% increase when compared with the total shipments in the previous month.

For the period January to October 2024, the total number of cargoes reached 5,237, which was an increase of 1%, or 66 shipments, when compared with the same period in 2023.