World Not "Awash in Gas"

BG Group forecasts world gas demand will grow at an annual rate of about 2.9 per cent to 4,100bn cubic metres a year over the next 10 years, driven by China.

The company said to meet demand in 2020, investment of $2 trillion would be needed in new production equivalent to 20 times the gas produced by Norway.

The global energy industry faces a “huge supply” challenge to bring online enough new gas to meet demand, according to BG Group’s chief executive, Frank Chapman.

"I fail to see where this [glut] is going to come from. In order to meet growing demand … it's a heck of a challenge. There seems to be a view that the world is awash with gas and it's free. But shale gas is in a very tight rocks. These are complex wells. You need to balance this with the rhetoric that there is lots of it and it's free."