Wednesday 25 May 2011

IEA asks if Gas is the answer

Are we entering a golden age of gas? That's the question being posed by the International Energy Agency's latest report to be launched next month in London.

The future for natural gas is bright. Demand has experienced a strong post-economic crisis recovery, while the North American shale gas boom and expansion of LNG trade have made ample supplies available in the near-term and bolstered future gas supply prospects.

With mounting concerns over energy security and global climate change, and renewed debate surrounding the future role of nuclear power, these developments say the IEA merit a deeper investigation of the prospects for, and the implications of, a so called 'golden age' of natural gas.

Nobuo Tanaka, IEA Executive Director and Fatih Birol, IEA Chief Economist will be debating these issues in London on June 6th as they launch the special report in the World Energy Outlook 2011 series. The report will look at the key factors that could secure a major role for natural gas in the global energy mix, and the implications for other fuels and climate change.