Shell to Add Up to 12 million Tons of LNG Capacity by 2030

Shell, the world's largest trader of liquefied natural gas, will add up to 12 million metric tons of additional capacity between now and the end of the decade from projects under construction, a top executive said on Wednesday.

"(There is) up to 12 million tons of additional (LNG) capacity that we're adding between now and the end of the decade," Cederic Cremers, Shell's president of integrated gas, said at Wood Mackenzie's Gas, LNG and the Future of Energy Conference in London.

"That is not an ambition. Those are all projects that are currently in construction," he said.

The projects included one in Canada, two in Qatar, and others in Nigeria and the UAE.

Analysts estimate Shell is a current buyer of around 70 million metric tons per annum of contractual LNG. Last year Shell LNG Marketing and Trading delivered nearly 65 million tonnes of LNG to more than 30 countries across the globe, according to the company's website.

Cremers said Shell was building up its capacity to supply customers through acquisitions such as the Pavilion Energy deal in Singapore, which it completed by the end of the first quarter, and via contracts with third-party suppliers.

He added that by 2030, 60% of the new supply will come from the U.S. and Qatar, with demand stemming mainly from Asia and from sectors that are hard to electrify.

Earlier this year Shell said global LNG demand is estimated to rise by around 60% by 2040, driven largely by economic growth in Asia, the impact of artificial intelligence, and efforts to cut emissions in heavy industries and transportation.

(Reuters)