Global demand for natural gas to drop 2% in 2020 as lockdowns take toll – Saudi Gazette

Global demand for natural gas to drop 2% in 2020 as lockdowns take toll – Saudi Gazette

Rystad Energy estimates global natural gas demand to fall by almost 2% this year as a result of the lower activity.. The average loss in gas demand from the power and industrial sectors has been a staggering 23% over the duration of the lockdown.. Gas demand from the power sector has averaged 25 billion cubic feet per day (708 million cubic meters per day) over the last two weeks, which is practically in line with last year's level.. The drop in US power demand has pushed coal out of the generation stack rather than gas.. The uncertainty represents a downside risk for gas demand for the rest of the year.. If coal producers manage to reduce prices further and the steep contango in the gas forward curves remains, then there is a risk of seeing a slowdown in gas demand towards the end of the year..