Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has warned of potential energy shortages next winter due to a lack of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) entering the market, while China's appetite is set to rise this year.
Birol said European governments made many proper moves last year to secure energy supplies, such as building more LNG terminals to replace pipeline imports of Russian gas.
They were also lucky, he added, because a mild winter dampened demand, while the slump in China’s economy caused the first dip in the nation’s LNG consumption in 40 years.