The world’s oil majors, beset by intimations of demand for their favorite product leveling off , seek comfort from an invisible friend. Compared to oil and coal, natural gas looks less fossilized. Long-term outlooks routinely show demand rising while it flattens for oil and falls for coal. This makes sense: Gas is versatile, useful both as a source of energy and a building block for chemicals; plus, when burned, it emits less carbon. In an increasingly electrified world where regulations around pollution are tightening, gas should be a relative winner. Oil majors have adjusted accordingly: However, their enthusiasm has, as so often, resulted in excess supply, especially of liquefied natural gas , expected to last through the early 2020s. And the long-heralded “golden age” of natural gas isn’t a foregone conclusion. In its latest long-term outlook, the Energy Information Administration cut projections for global gas consumption; the annual growth […]