World demand for natural gas could grow by 3% a year over the next 15 years, with demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) growing much faster, Executive Director Gas & Power of Shell Linda Cook reported at the SPE Technical Conference in Dallas. This will require massive investment. Innovative technology will be needed to maximise recovery from existing resources and lower the cost of developing new ones. Gaining access to resources will require adding real value for resource holders. With customers depending on gas delivered over increasing distances, demand for LNG - with costs continuing to be driven down - could expand threefold. But this investment must be choreographed along a complex value chain in dynamic markets.
Gas to Liquids will be increasingly important for meeting growing demand for higher quality, cleaner liquid transportation fuels. Coal Gasification is a way of using coal more efficiently for power generation, with the potential for capturing the carbon dioxide. Finding cost effective ways of removing and disposing of carbon dioxide - or using it to help recover more oil and gas - will open up huge new resources for development.