KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): The lack of investments and raising the cost of capital for gas development will endanger energy security and weaken the industry’s capability to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to people at large, said International Gas Union (IGU) president Li Yalan.

She said this has prompted the union to urge and encourage its members and the global key stakeholders to ensure investment and financing access for gas.

"For Asia’s current coal-dependent energy mix, natural gas is one of the fundamental energies to support countries’ energy transition and carbon neutrality efforts.

"Until large-scale, commercial, long-term electricity storage technology matures, natural gas will still play an important role in the energy system," she said at the fourth edition of the Malaysian Gas Symposium (MyGAS 2025).

International Gas Union (IGU) president Li Yalan (Photo credit: WGC_2025@X)

She noted that estimates indicated that natural gas met around 40% of the increase in global energy demand in 2024, more than any other fuel.

Global natural gas consumption reached a record high of 4,212 billion cubic metres (bcm), a 2.8% increase year-on-year.

The strong growth was mainly due to the Asia-Pacific region, which accounted for almost 45% of incremental gas demand in 2024, on the back of continued economic development, which showed that there is still huge potential for natural gas development in Asia Pacific.

"In 2025, world natural gas consumption is expected to reach 4,292 bcm. Asia Pacific will continue (to account) for the majority of that increment.

"Meanwhile, Europe is expected to import more liquified natural gas (LNG) to replace pipeline gas. All these factors will impact the supply and price of the global gas market, whose balance remains fragile," said Li.

On the local front, Li said Malaysia, as the third largest natural gas producer in the Asia-Pacific region after Australia and China, would play a crucial role with its rich gas reserve, and its increasing LNG production capacity.

"At the same time, due to its geographical proximity to China, India and other natural gas markets, the Malaysian gas industry will have greater potential development," she said.

Malaysia is also the world’s fifth largest LNG exporter, with exports reaching over 28 metric tonnes, accounting for 7% of the global LNG trade.

In 2024, Malaysia exported 7.85 million tonnes of LNG to China.