據6月11日Rigzone報道，全球最大的LNG貿易商荷蘭皇家殼牌公司預計，液化天然氣市場將恢復到疫情前的水平。

全球液化天然氣需求在各國實施封鎖期間受到嚴重打擊，影響了從發電廠到運輸和工廠等各個領域的液化天然氣使用。在連續兩個暖冬的打擊下，全球出現了有史以來最大的燃料過剩危機。

殼牌首席執行官范伯登(Ben van Beurden)在一次采訪中表示：“我們仍然非常相信，在當前的供需前景下，這是一個發展勢頭強勁的行業，將以每年近4%的速度增長。”

殼牌在展望中指出，預計到2040年，液化天然氣的年需求將增加一倍，達到7億噸。2019年液化天然氣的消費量增長了13%，達到3.59億噸。

國際能源署(International Energy Agency)預計，作為國際天然氣貿易的主要推動力，液化天然氣將在2019-2025年增長21%，年產量將達到5850億立方米。IEA在周三發布的《2020年天然氣》(Gas 2020)報告中稱，增長將來自中國和印度。不過，貿易增長速度將低于液化產能增長速度，市場供應沒有緊縮趨勢。

該公司及其同行大幅削減開支以應對油價暴跌。國際石油巨頭已將資本支出削減了20%至30%，不少項目被擱置。由于供過于求，殼牌在3月份放棄了價值數十億美元的查爾斯湖液化天然氣終端項目，但該公司首席財務官Jessica Uhl曾表示，其油氣投資組合的減產不會是永久性的。

鄒勤 摘譯自Rigzone

原文如下：

Shell CEO Expects LNG Market Will Return to Pre-Virus Levels

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas trader, expects buying and selling of the fastest-growing fuel to recover to levels seen before the pandemic.

Global LNG demand took a severe hit when nations imposed lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus, impacting the fuel’s use in everything from power plants to transport and factories. That came on top of the biggest glut of the fuel the world has ever seen, helped by two mild winters in a row.

“We still very much believe that with the current supply-demand outlook, this is a fundamentally strong sector that will grow at a rate that is close to 4% per year, Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.

In its outlook, Shell said it expects annual LNG demand to double to 700 million tons by 2040. Consumption increased by a record 13% to 359 million tons in 2019.

The International Energy Agency expects LNG, the main driver of international gas trade, to expand by 21% in 2019-2025, reaching 585 billion cubic meters annually. The growth will come from China and India, the IEA said in its Gas 2020 report published Wednesday. Trade will increase at a slower pace than liquefaction capacity additions, limiting the prospects of a tighter market, it said in the report.

The company and its peers slashed spending to cope with the collapse in oil prices. International majors have cut capital spending by 20% to 30% with projects being put on hold or shelved altogether. Shell walked away from the multibillion-dollar Lake Charles LNG terminal in March because of the glut, but Chief Financial Officer Jessica Uhl has said production cuts across its oil and gas portfolio would not be permanent.