Reuters: Europe's gas imports to grow 50 pct by 2030 - Wood Mac

Europe's imports of natural gas will surge 50 percent by 2030 as domestic production diminishes and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies increase, analysts at Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday.

Europe's gas imports will increase to 370 billion tonnes a year by 2030 from the current level of 250 billion tonnes, the research group said in a report.

In general, Europe's demand for gas will rise slowly until around 2025 due to competition from low coal prices and renewables overcapacity, a separate study showed on Wednesday. Europe gets around a third of its gas from Russia. Other sources include Norway and LNG imports, mainly from the Middle East.

"There are around 150 billion cubic metres of LNG projects under development - and potentially more being developed in the U.S. - which will come to market before 2020," Massimo Di-Odoardo, principal analyst for European gas and power, told Reuters.
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