The global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market is expected to stay finely balanced this year as thin supply buffers, low European inventories and recovering Asian demand leave little room for unexpected weather shocks, an Eni executive said.
“Europe has very low storages, and we need to refill it in the summer,” Cristian Signoretto, director for global gas LNG portfolio at Italian energy major Eni told Reuters.
“And we expect also Asia, China, to rebound a bit from the low consumption of last year, because prices will be a bit softer than last year,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of the LNG2026 conference.
“If we have a cold spell in the last part of this winter…Or if you have a heat wave in Asia or Europe during the summer, we might be in a tricky situation to be able to pull gas for European storages,” Signoretto said.
“So we still see 2026 as very finely balanced.” From 2027 into 2028 however, additional LNG supply will help to further soften prices, although project delays remain a risk, he added.
New demand from Southeast Asia and the Middle East will show up if LNG prices fall below $10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), Signoretto said.
