Natural gas redefines the energy mix for a resilient future

The challenge is mounting: delivering power that is secure, affordable, and sustainable has never been more critical. Steady natural gas supply, resilient LNG demand, and advances in technology are key to ensuring energy security—addressing current consumption while opening pathways to low-carbon solutions.

Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Baker Hughes, explained: “When you think about energy security, it's now both from a developed world as well as a developing world. And what that brings to the forefront is the importance of natural gas”.

Redefining energy security

The meaning of energy security is shifting. Lorenzo Simonelli continued: “Gas is definitely going to be a larger portion of the energy mix. The abundance of natural gas, along with its affordability and sustainability - associated with other technologies of Carbon Capture and Storage, makes it a provider of uninterruptible power generation. For the next two decades, it will not be a transition fuel, but a destination fuel”.

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO of upstream at ADNOC added: “There are three big trends going forward: the rise of the Global South, the energy transition, and the rise of AI. By 2035, there will be 9 billion people, we're expecting energy growth to increase by 40%. The power generation needed for data centers is going to increase by over 75% compared to 2024. We need to ensure that we continue meeting the growing energy demand with the lowest carbon intensity possible”.

From transition fuel to destination

Gas is at the heart of global energy security and economic resilience. Jack Fusco, director, president and CEO of Cheniere Energy remarked: “You can go from zero to 15 megawatts in a matter of minutes. You don't get that type of flexibility or response from any of the other technologies that exist today. Gas is here to stay. In the last nine years, LNG has doubled since I've been an overseeing engineer. It's going to double again by the end of this decade”.

Kongkrapan Intarajang, president and CEO of PTT explained how, being in Southeast Asia, PTT faces the challenge of balancing affordability and sustainability: “Southeast Asia, as a whole, uses about one trillion cubic meters of gas. It's the right balance because we have been developing renewables, but it's insufficient and it’s still expensive. We have security because we own 80% of the demand, while we have to import about 20%”.

Balancing growth and sustainability

Natural gas is redefining the challenge of transition, as it is almost 50% lower in carbon emissions than coal, for example.

Takayuki Ueda, president and CEO of INPEX CORPORATION said: “Everybody used to think that transition means a shift from fossil energy to green energy, such as renewables. However, renewables have some limitations, such as instability. Gas and renewables are not mutually exclusive. About 400 million tons of LNG is traded in the world. And this number will increase perhaps to 700 to 800 million tons of LNG by the year 2040–2050”.

Infrastructure and flexibility

Infrastructure investment is expanding rapidly, with pipelines, LNG terminals, and regasification capacity growing worldwide. Yet bottlenecks remain—from policy delays to supply chain constraints.

Lorenzo Simonelli brought up the example of the U.S. prior administration’s LNG pause at the beginning of 2024: “That hurt the expansion of natural gas and also electric facilities. And we've still got to remember that there are between 700 million and a billion people without access to energy: there needs to be that pragmatic policy across the ecosystem and all stakeholders being aligned”.

Ultimately, the panel agreed on the critical role of partnerships and flexible systems to meet growing energy demands sustainably.

Lorenzo Simonelli concluded: "The more complicated the world is, the more important partnerships are, as well as being aligned on the outcome: that is affordable, sustainable, and secure energy."