Cheap gas key to unlocking new markets
Weaning poorer regions off coal means gas needs to be abundant and competitive longer term
Ensuring gas is cheap enough to broaden access to the fuel is the key to unlocking more demand in price-sensitive emerging markets in Africa and Southwest Asia, with supportive government policy essential for entrenching the fuel and assuring investors of its longevity, industry executives said at the World Gas Conference in Beijing in May. The cost of gas across all key markets in 2024 declined significantly year-on-year, but European and Asian spot prices remained well above their historic averages. The front-month TTF price last year was more than double the five-year average over 2016–20, while the Platts Japan-Korea Marker averaged nearly twice as high, according to the IEA. “We d
Also in this section
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
8 January 2026
The region’s access to versatile feedstock, combined with policy support, is setting it up to meet growing demand both at home and abroad
7 January 2026
No longer can the energy source be considered a sidekick to oil in the Middle East and neither should it step aside for less convincing alternatives






