Wednesday, 2 July, 2025 / Edition 65

Greetings from Oslo! My better half and I are on a mini-moon to explore the Norwegian fjords and Scandinavia with four close friends!

Now, let’s dig into two pieces of energy news from the past week.

Shangyou Nie

Editor, Well Read

Canada Becomes the Latest LNG Exporter

Evgenii Bakchev/Shutterstock.com

Shell recently produced first LNG from the LNG Canada project, and yesterday, the company announced that the first LNG cargo had left Canada on its way to Asia. This is Canada’s first large-scale export project.

Why it matters:

• Asian customers will soon have direct access to North American LNG via the Pacific, unhindered by potential bottlenecks such as the Panama Canal or the Strait of Hormuz.

• LNG Canada uses the Alberta Energy Co. (AECO) price index as a benchmark, which tends to be lower than the Henry Hub in the United States.

• Recent political and economic disputes between Canada and the United States led nearly 40 CEOs to urge the Canadian government to support independent oil/gas export routes.

• Conflict in the Middle East and a potential shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has highlighted the importance of diversity in LNG supply.

About LNG Canada:

• Shell is the operator and 40 percent equity holder for LNG Canada, with partners Petronas (25 percent), CNPC (15 percent), Mitsubishi (15 percent), and Kogas (5 percent).

• LNG Canada has direct access to the Asian market with a 40-year export license.

• It will have an initial capacity of 14 million tonnes per annum with two trains.

• LNG Canada took FID in October 2018, overcoming significant challenges, including reaching agreement from local community First Nations.

• The capital cost is estimated around 40 billion Canadian dollars or $29 billion USD.

• Petronas cancelled its $25 billion Pacific NorthWest project in Canada in 2017 and bought 25 percent equity in LNG Canada in 2018.

What they’re saying:

• “What is particularly attractive about LNG Canada in today’s world, retrospectively, is the AECO indexation,” said Shell CEO Wael Sawan in Malaysia last week.
•  “LNG Canada brings a new source of economic development to British Columbia, delivering a competitive, secure, and reliable source of energy in partnership with local communities and First Nations,” Shell said in a statement. 

What’s next:

• According to Shell, LNG Canada has an option for a Phase 2 expansion, adding two more trains to double the capacity to 28 million tonnes per annum. Will Shell and partners take FID for LNG Canada Phase 2? If so, when?

• Canada and Mexico are developing LNG export projects on the Pacific coasts to shorten shipping distances for Asian LNG buyers.

  • According to the Financial Times, these two countries would have a combined capacity of close to 70 million tonnes per annum by 2040.

• Attempts to open up U.S. west coast LNG export have not been successful.

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Energy Institute Issues its 74th Annual World Energy Statistics

Sasirin pamai/Shutterstock

The United Kingdom’s Energy Institute issued its 74th Statistical Review of World Energy, formerly known as BP’s Statistical Review, in collaboration with Kearney and KPMG. The annual review provides the latest picture of global energy supply and demand, as well as carbon emissions.

Key takeaways:

• Global energy demand grew one percent in 2024.

• Fossil fuels grew one percent, led by natural gas growth (2.5 percent).

• Wind and solar energy grew the fastest at 16 percent in 2024, led by China, despite retreat in other parts of the world.

• All forms of energy—including coal, oil, gas, renewables, hydro, and nuclear—reached all-time highs in 2024. This suggests co-existence between fossil energy and non-fossil fuels, rather than complete replacement of the former by the latter.

• Electricity demand grew four percent in 2024, continuing to outpace total energy demand growth as a result of electrification.

Regional highlights:

• Chinese crude demand declined 1.2 percent in 2024, suggesting oil demand peaked in 2023—earlier than most had anticipated.

• China contributed to 57 percent of new solar energy.

• India’s demand for coal increased four percent in 2024.

• Crude oil demand in OECD countries remained flat.

• Europe reduced its emissions for six years consecutively.

On oil:

• Oil remains the top source of energy, representing 34 percent of all sources.

• Global oil demand reached 101 million barrels of oil per day, up 0.7 percent in 2024.

• The United States is the world’s largest oil producer, with 20 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its total is just smaller than the combined production of number two producer Saudia Arabia (10.9 million barrels per day) and number three Russia (10.8 million barrels per day).

• Africa and the Middle East were the fastest-growing regions for oil demand at 2.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

On gas:

• Global gas demand rose to 101 billion cubic meters or 3.6 trillion cubic feet per day, up 2.5 percent YOY.

• Gas met 25 percent of total energy demand in 2024, and all regions except Africa saw gas demand growth.

• Africa’s gas consumption declined 0.9 percent in 2024.

• Focusing on domestic production led China to become the world’s fourth-largest gas producer.

On other energy sources:

• Coal production reached a new record at 9,242 million tonnes, up 0.9 percent YOY.

• Nuclear energy rose three percent in 2024 to meet five percent of global energy demand. France and Japan led the growth.

• Led by China, wind and solar energy met 15 percent of total energy demand in 2024, up from 13 percent in 2023.

On carbon emissions:

• China remains the world’s largest CO2 emitter, accounting for roughly one-third of total global emissions.

• The United States reduced its emissions 0.7 percent in 2024.

You can access the 2025 review here; and the detailed data files here.

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✉️ To get in touch with Shangyou, send an email to editorial@aapg.org.