After a record drop in global demand of about 75 billion cubicmetres (bcm) in 2020, natural gas markets experienced significantsupply-demand tensions in the initial months of 2021. Colder-thanexpectedtemperatures and tighter supply led to price rallies andspikes, first in Northeast Asia in January and then in North Americain February.

These winter storms provided some short-term support to naturalgas demand, but market fundamentals for 2021 remain fragile.Global gas demand is expected to recover to its 2019 level, but withuncertainties regarding the recovery trajectory in fast-growingmarkets as compared to more mature regions, while sectoraldemand is subject to a variety of risk factors including a slowrebound in economic activity and fuel switching.

This new quarterly report offers a detailed review of 2020’s gassupply and demand fundamentals and figures, an analysis of recentdevelopments in global gas markets during the northernhemisphere’s heating season, and an updated near-term outlook for2021.