Welcome to the 10th issue of Global Voice of Gas magazine, an International Gas Union publication, produced in collaboration with Natural Gas World (NGW), a new standard for the global gas community communication worldwide.

• We will soon reach the end of what has been the most disruptive year in the history of the gas industry, as well as the energy sector at large.
• The soaring cost of energy has been exacerbated by Russia’s actions in the European market, but it has been years in the making. While the focus on the mission-critical goal of reaching net-zero was right and must continue, not enough attention has been paid to energy security and affordability. Supply investments fell behind demand growth, and the already out-of-balance energy markets could not withstand the shock of diminishing the volumes of the world’s key gas exporter. This has meant higher costs for people and businesses, closures of production, and energy shortages exacerbating a global cost of living crisis as well as a global food crisis.
• This was one of the messages to come out of the COP27 last month, which took place for the first time on African soil since 2016. The conference ended with countries reaching a breakthrough agreement on forming a loss and damage fund, to provide developing countries hit hard by the climate crisis with the support they need. The final text from the conference also contained a provision to expand low-emissions energy, ranging from nuclear and renewable power, but potentially also gas. The value of Africa’s natural gas reserves, as a means to yield greater economic prosperity and lower emissions on that continent and internationally, must be recognised.
• In this issue of GVG, Rystad Energy provides an insightful commentary on the prospects for extra gas supply over the coming years, and how much of those volumes can be expected to help ease the situation in Europe, which has seen its Russian pipeline supply drastically reduced.
• Mike Fulwood, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, also warns in an interview of the implications that a proposal by EU authorities to impose a price ceiling could have on gas supplies in Europe, stressing that at best, it will be ineffectual, and at worst, could exacerbate the situation by deterring supply, undermining liquidity and posing a risk to financial markets.
• This issue also zeroes in on the energy issues affecting Asia – specifically how India and Pakistan are coping with the soaring cost of gas supplies. Unfortunately, this has led to the resurgence of coal and other, dirtier fuels, as it has done in other parts of the world, contradicting climate goals. The issue also provides a global overview of the destruction of gas demand due to high prices, and the implications for coal.

We hope that you will find this issue interesting and insightful on the dynamics affecting the global gas and broader energy markets.