The International Energy Agency (IEA) sees the present length in the global gas market – as evidenced by spot prices lower than oil-indexed prices would be – continuing, with “heavy oversupply” until 2018. But upstream investments will remain low, setting the course for higher prices by the early to mid-2020s, its latest Medium-Term Market Report for gas says. “We see massive quantities of LNG exports coming on line while, despite lower gas prices, demand continues to soften in traditional markets,” said IEA CEO Fatih Birol. These contradictory trends will both impact trade and keep spot gas prices under pressure.” He added that the combined factors of cheaper coal and continued strong renewables growth were blocking gas from expanding more rapidly in the power sector. Net imports to Europe are projected to increase by roughly 40bn m³/yr over the next five years as demand growth, albeit very slow, and falling […]