Oleg Aksyutin, Vice President of the Russian energy company Gazprom, stated at the panel discussion “Gas Industry: Focus on the East” during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that natural gas consumption in Europe (the UK and the EU) has decreased by 100 billion cubic meters over the past three years, reaching the lowest level in the last 30 years.

At the same time, demand for natural gas in Asia is expected to grow by 100 billion cubic meters per year over the next five years. By 2050, the share of natural gas in global energy consumption is projected to reach 26 percent.