Doha: Officials in the field of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and trading emphasized the rapid development of the LNG market in recent years, and its trading volume in the spot energy market.
According to Qatar News Agency, in a spotlight session held on Wednesday under the title "The Continued Evolution of LNG," as part of the 21st International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) 2026, participants predicted an acceleration in the development of the LNG market over the next few years. Global Head of LNG Consulting at Standard and Poor's Madeline Jowdy noted that there are a number of entities trading LNG, and as they continue to expand. She highlighted that there is still the same level of liquidity in the market as is recorded in oil markets or refined product markets.
She noted that about ten years ago, around the same time the United States began exporting LNG, about 12 percent of LNG was traded on the spot market, then the trading ratio developed three years ago to about 30 percent, before continuing its upward trend in 2025 to about 45 to 50 percent.
For his part, Senior Vice President of LNG at JERA Global Markets Jonathan Westby highlighted the development of the LNG market in a short period. He noted that a decade or two ago, LNG was a somewhat specialized market, before LNG emerged in the past few years to gain great importance in balancing global energy needs, and thus became a truly global system.
He stressed that LNG has gained strategic importance for countries, governments and companies to ensure the stability of supplies, and that its market has transformed from an emerging market to a more liquid and important one, to the point that it has become at the forefront of the global energy system. In this regard, he said that it is a good time to join this industry.
In the same context, Executive Vice President of Shell LNG Marketing and Trading Tom Summers indicated that the LNG production and marketing sector has witnessed significant development over the past two decades, after it used to require huge capital investment to market it, considering that it is important to point out the confidence that has been established in the sector over many years of investment.
He underscored that the development of investment in the LNG sector gives buyers confidence and security in prices, which has also contributed to the entry of more companies into the market. However, he noted his belief that the interdependence and integration in the global energy system has changed significantly over time, especially after the two recent market shocks (the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis) clearly demonstrated the potential of LNG and its resilience in overcoming such crises.
In turn, Vice President LNG Trading in TotalEnergies Gas and Power Limited pointed out that TotalEnergies has an investment portfolio in energy thanks to its long-term partnership with QatarEnergy, considering that price fluctuations and events affecting the energy market contribute to improving performance, while the only way to manage and monitor these unexpected events is to be flexible and adaptable.
Furthermore, Global head of LNG at Vitol Pablo Galante Escobar said that national oil companies have also become active in trading, and they have specialists who work to improve trading volume, not only by increasing their own trading volume, but also by trading on behalf of third parties. He stressed that this has contributed to the remarkable development of the market compared to the past, as its maturity has increased significantly during the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and highlighted its importance as a source of energy in the world.
He pointed out that LNG is an important means of reducing carbon emissions by replacing coal, which still constitutes a large proportion of energy needs in many countries, including many European countries.