Good news for household wallets. Europe should experience gas prices from 2025 “ much more reasonable “, due to the arrival of new supplies of liquefied gas from Qatar and the United States, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.
« From 2025, natural gas markets will transform into buyers’ rather than sellers’ markets, due to the arrival of a huge amount of new supplies of liquefied gas (LNG) from the United States and from Qatar », indicated Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), in Paris.
« Natural gas prices will become much more reasonable », he added at the IEA headquarters, alongside the former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi, invited to present his report on the competitiveness of the EU.
Liquefied natural gas now highly coveted
Since the post-covid recovery at the end of 2021, and even more since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022, LNG, this liquefied gas imported by ship, is highly coveted by European countries which have sought to compensate for the drastic reductions in Russian gas deliveries in onshore pipelines.
Keeping gas customers in an electrifying world, the challenge for the sector
This drop in prices should help to offer a “ breathing space » to Europeans for the coming years, after the surge in gas and oil prices, in 2021 and 2022, explained Fatih Birol.
Oil prices will also deflate
In addition to gas, the head of the IEA also expects to see “reasonable oil prices”due to weakening demand in China, which is turning to electric vehicles, and despite geopolitical tensions. “ Even though some of you may see that there is a lot going on in the Middle East, oil prices are still at $70, in that range », added the head of the IEA.
Oil: why prices are not soaring despite tensions in the Middle East
For Fatih Birol, it is about “ breathe a little and make the most of these next 3 or 4 years » relative drop in prices, « to prepare for the next chapter » with the development of renewable electrical energies and nuclear power to decarbonize energy in Europe. “ Electricity is the future “, he assured.
The goal of tripling renewable energy within reach
The COP28 objective of tripling the world’s renewable energy capacities by 2030 is within reach, provided in particular that we support their development in Africa and South-East Asia, the Agency said on Wednesday. international energy (IEA), in an annual report on the subject.
« Nearly 70 countries, which collectively represent 80% of global renewable energy capacity, are on track to meet or exceed their current renewable energy ambitions for 2030 », Reports the agency.
According to her, the global capacity “ will reach 2.7 times its 2022 level by 2030 “. And solar photovoltaics alone are expected to account for 80% of global renewable capacity growth by 2030, while wind power is expected to double the rate of expansion between 2024 and 2030 compared to the period 2017- 2023.
(With AFP)
