In October, Exxon CEO Darren Woods said the current level of global investment in the oil and gas sector is insufficient to meet demand in the medium to long term. He believes that rates of development of economies of developing countries confirm continuation of increase in demand for energy resources.

Woods also noted that European energy policy is «going in the wrong direction» by telling businesses exactly how they should achieve decarbonization targets. In his view, a commitment to a very narrow range of technological solutions and a focus solely on the need to get rid of oil and gas creates an unjustified risk of energy shortages.

Europe is also beginning to understand the impasse of relying solely on renewable energy sources. In early October the member of European Commission responsible for questions of climate Wopke Hoekstra said that natural gas will remain a part of power balance of the EU for many years, even despite transition to low-carbon power sources. «If to look at present condition of the European industry, it is a complete illusion to think that in the next several years we will be able to do completely without gas or LNG,» Hoekstra said. “As much as I would like us to be completely climate neutral tomorrow, it’s simply not possible,” he noted.

On September 29 Bloomberg News Agency published a column that in the energy sector the ESG topic less than in five years did a way from «the hottest topic» to «got out of fashion». Oil and gas majors, facing need of reduction of capital expenditure, make choice for investments into gas and oil production, refusing or reducing costs of «green» projects. Investment fund managers are once again openly talking about their investments in fossil fuel companies.
In turn the Head of Gazprom Alexey Miller noted that for the last ten years for all that that real war against traditional hydrocarbons was developed, most rapidly demand for gas, but not renewable energy sources, grew in world power balance. Today the volume of consumption of gas in the world is 4.3 trillion CBM, and by 2030 this indicator will grow to 4.7 trillion CBM.

«Gas generation and digitalization are two inseparable things. Gas generation is given preference due to reliability of deliveries on the volume and the continuity of these deliveries. DPCs (data-processing centers) play a key role here. The role of DPCs grows in developed economies, consumption of gas generation grows. Respectively, the gas consumption role grows. Digitalization and artificial intelligence are inevitable things. We already followed this way, we go on it and there is no alternative to artificial intelligence. “The more powerful the DPCs, the more powerful the artificial intelligence, the more energy you need,” said Alexey Miller.

He paid attention to growth of consumption of gas in China: «Experts say that literally in the nearest future, in some five years, the volume of consumption of gas in China will increase by 45% and will reach the level of 618 billion cubic meters of gas a year, and by 2050 – on the level of 660 billion. Russia is capable of supplying a larger share of the People’s Republic of China’s needs.»

In turn the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak considers that the accelerated transition to green power, on the one hand, opens new opportunities, but on another hand creates system vulnerabilities. For example, implementation of RES technologies without use of industrial stores of energy can lead to imbalance of power supply system and decrease in reliability of consumers. Large-scale blackout in Portugal and Spain in April of this year is evident demonstration of approach of such risks.

«The dependence on supply chains of critical minerals, the equipment for RES and hydrogen technologies form the new centers of influence and potential points of tension. Protective duties of the USA and EC on the Chinese electric vehicles act as the main illustration of this story. The West cannot compete with the People’s Republic of China which controls more than 50% of a global production chain – from extraction of rare-earth metals before assembly of electric vehicles, thereby daring to hold the price of the products 30% lower than at American and European producers.

China has also emerged as a global leader in the renewable energy industry over the past 10 years, accounting for 80% of global solar panel production and commissioning 1,400 GW of carbon-free generating capacity. At the same time the People’s Republic of China remains the leader in absolute growth rates of energy consumption. For the last 10 years it grew by 75% – from 5783 billion kWh in 2014 up to 10,073 billion kWh in 2024 that is comparable to a total annual power consumption of the USA and Canada or to consumption of power supply system of France in nine years. For satisfaction of this demand all types of power sources are necessary. The same is true in other growing economies. Therefore balance between the climatic purposes and providing basic, reliable power loading is a call for politicians and industry specialists,» Alexander Novak noted.

On September 30, Shell CEO Vaël Savan predicted a 60% increase in LNG demand by 2040, as well as an increase in its share of global gas sales from 13% to 20%. Savan said that he considers LNG one of the most effective types of fuel for decrease in global emissions of CO2 as it can replace coal in the countries using it in power generation. At the same time Shell wrote off 600 million dollars of losses in the third quarter because of refusal of the project on production of biofuel in Rotterdam in view of its unprofitability.

On October 2, Reuters reported, citing industry experts, that by 2030, the demand for LNG in the ship bunkering sector will at least double from 4 million to 8 million tons per year. It will be promoted, both strict requirements regarding emissions and reduction of prices of LNG as a result of growth of the offer after commissioning of new productions in the USA and Qatar. Advantage of LNG before other alternative types of fuel is the developed infrastructure. Use of LNG allows reducing emissions by 19% in comparison with traditional types of ship fuel. Among the countries the leading centers of bunkering of LNG in the world are Singapore, China and the Netherlands. Now in the world 781 vessels are capable to use LNG as fuel. By 2030 their number, proceeding from the orders placed on shipyards can increase to 1,471.

Bloomberg News Agency reported on October 2 that Great Britain, despite the plans almost completely refuse fossil fuel by 2030, is ready to offer investors higher prices for new gas power plants which will serve for balancing of a system during the periods of shortage of energy. The government considers increase in the top price level at auctions for distribution of capacities to stimulate construction gas, hydro- and the nuclear power plants capable to supplement RES.
The system of auctions operating since 2014 provides payment of availability of stations, but the set limits make new investments into balancing objects of generation unattractive. It is clear that the country will remain dependent on gas and other stable sources during cold, windless winters, as renewable energy storage systems can only meet short-term needs. Vietnam is interested in cooperation in the gas sphere with other states including Russia. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) Bui Thanh Son during his speech at the Russian Energy Week.

According to him, the republic realizes various legislative initiatives directed to improvement of investment climate including in the field of gas and power supply now. This opens up great opportunities for foreign partners including Russian partners to work with us in the energy sector and share their experience with us. This will increase our capabilities in the construction and operation of LNG terminals, so that we can ensure our energy security and maintain a high pace of economic development,» said the Deputy Prime Minister.

By 2030, Vietnam, as noted by Bui Thanh Son, will build 14 gas-fired power plants with a total capacity of 20,000 MW on its territory. Also the country intends during the period till 2028 to construct and put into operation 10-14 terminals on intake of LNG. Import of LNG in Vietnam is in competence of investors of terminals and gas power plants and is carried out on the basis of the commercial agreements regulated by market mechanisms according to the legislation of SRV. According to the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, the Republic is interested in diversifying its gas supplies «for the sake of stability, security, and independence in LNG supply.»

European companies continue to reduce their investments in renewable energy and hydrogen projects. In late September, it was reported that French company Total had sold 50% of its 1.4 GW North American solar portfolio. The asset portfolio includes six large solar power plants with a total capacity of 1.3 GW, as well as 41 distributed generation facilities with a total capacity of 140 MW. Most of the assets are located in the United States.

At the same time, German company RWE decided to abandon its project to produce green ammonia in Namibia. The amount of necessary investments into the project was estimated at the level of 10 billion dollars. The memorandum on the project was signed in 2022. The estimated output was 300 thousand tons of ammonia a year. The reason for such a decision in RWE called slower than it was expected rates of development of demand for hydrogen and ammonia in Europe.

In early October, the African Energy Week was held, during which Ghana’s Minister of Energy, John Ginapor, called on African governments to prioritize natural gas for domestic needs. According to Ginapor, developing the right policies and regulatory framework in the country’s energy sector is crucial. «Gas continues to be a vital resource not only for Ghana but also for the entire continent of Africa,» the minister emphasized.