BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Asian gas demand is projected to return to modest growth of around 3 percent in 2023, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
IEA says in its latest report that the growth will be possible thanks to the lifting of China’s zero-COVID policy, an assumption of normalizing weather and the modest recovery of India’s and Emerging Asia’s gas consumption after steep declines in 2022.
“Asia’s gas consumption decreased by an estimated 2 percent in 2022 as a result of high LNG prices, COVID-related disruptions in China and mild weather during most of the year in Northeast Asia. This represents a sharp reversal from 2021, when gas demand rose by a robust 7 percent as the region’s economies recovered from the COVID-related shock of 2020,” the report says.
IEA notes that emerging Asia’s gas consumption dropped by an estimated 4 percent in 2022, as high import prices combined with falling domestic supply from some of the region’s legacy producers put pressure on demand.
Thailand, the region’s biggest gas consumer, recorded a 10 percent y-o-y drop in its gas use during the first eleven months of 2022, with most of the decline concentrated in the power sector and the domestic energy industry. Indonesia, the number two consumer in emerging Asia, saw an overall 3 percent y-o-y decrease in the first eleven months of the year. Y-o-y readings turned mostly negative from mid-2022, and gas demand was down by 12 percent in the July to November 2022 period (with power and industry both contributing to the decline), a sharp contrast to the 6 percent y-o-y growth recorded in H1 2022.
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