Chevron Sees Global LNG Shortfall by 2025 on Demand Growth

Liquefied natural gas may fall short of global demand by more than 100 million metric tons a year by 2025 as new projects fail to keep pace, Chevron Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John S. Watson said.

Global LNG supplies will begin to fall short of demand around the end of this decade, according to a slide at Watson’s presentation for analysts in New York today.

Chevron’s $54 billion Gorgon LNG development in Australia, which would be capable of producing 15.6 million tons a year, is about 60 percent complete, Watson said.

Demand for the fuel will increase at an estimated average rate of 15 million tons a year through 2025, led by growth in Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, Watson said. The supply gap may be equivalent in size to “10 Gorgons,” Watson said.

In addition to building Gorgon, San Ramon, California-based Chevron is a partner in Australia’s Wheatstone LNG project and in December agreed to buy a 50 percent stake in the proposed Kitimat terminal on Canada’s Pacific Coast.

Liquefied natural gas is fuel that’s cooled to liquid form at -160 degrees Fahrenheit (-106 Celsius) to reduce its volume and allow transportation by ship.

Chevron rose to an intraday record of $119.23 at 10:12 a.m. in New York. The shares have increased 10 percent this year.