64 per cent of 813 oil and gas sector leaders expect to see an increase or continuation of current spending on gas projects in 2018, aligning the industry’s preparations for gas to overtake oil as the world’s primary energy source in the mid-2030s, according to the results of a new study by DNV GL.

Confidence for gas is growing according to the report titled ‘Transition in Motion’, which also outlines DNV GL’s predictions for the oil and gas industry from 2018 onwards. The report is based on a global survey that incorporates the views of 813 senior industry professionals, conducted during October and November 2017.

As one of the world’s leading LNG producers, Australia is also expected to benefit from a major transition to gas in the global energy mix.

“Society’s transition to a less carbon-intensive energy mix is already a reality, and oil and gas will continue to be crucial components. Our research affirms that the industry is already taking positive steps to secure the important role we forecast gas to play in helping to meet future, lower-carbon energy requirements,” announced Liv Hovem, CEO, DNV GL- Oil & Gas.

“Significant investment will be needed in the gas industry over the coming decades to increase capacity, transform assets to source and transport a decarbonized mix of energies, and to safely build and maintain the infrastructure needed to connect emerging supply regions with evolving demand centres,” Hovem added.

Nearly a quarter of global gas industry professionals believe that onshore pipeline projects currently in development are adaptable enough to cope with potential long-term changes in the gas mix, such as a greater variety of calorific values, hydrogen and biogas. However, it is important to note that 13 per cent disagree with this.

72 per cent of industry professionals believe that, as traditional coal energy generation becomes obsolete over the coming decades, the long-term attractiveness of gas will significantly improve. In addition to this, the number of respondents stating that traditional oil and gas prices will decouple in the long-term has increased from 45 per cent in 2017 to 55 per cent this year.

“The stage is set for gas to become the largest single source of energy,” comments the DNV GL.

The 2018 edition of DNV GL’s ‘Energy Transition Outlook’ is set to be published in a suite of reports on August 30.

More information on this report can be found here.