Demand for gas is growing worldwide, Gazprom providing about 60% of Q1 increase in international trade volumes

ST. PETERSBURG. June 7 (Interfax) - According to Gazprom estimates from official statistics, world gas consumption increased 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2023, and consumption growth has accelerated since the beginning of 2024, Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Alexei Miller said at a meeting with SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)-2024.

Global gas consumption increased more than 40 bcm, or 3.5% in Q1 2024 compared to the same period last year. The largest increase was 20 bcm from the countries of the Asia-Pacific region (APR), Gazprom said.

"The leader in gas consumption in the Asia-Pacific region is China. It provided 67% of the growth in demand in the region in the first quarter. The volume of the Chinese natural gas market already exceeds the total consumption of all EU countries combined," the report says.

The increase in international gas trade volumes in the first quarter of 2024 reached about 15 bcm (+4.8%) compared to the same period last year. Gazprom was responsible for about 60% of the increase in global gas sales and over 80% of the increase in pipeline gas sales, the company said.