European Gas in the Next Century. Fundamental Changes or Business as Usual?

The oil price development is surprising. As soon as a consensus has been formed, it moves in some direction opposite of what was expected. Producers should be prepared to meet a future with declining rather than increasing prices in real terms. In this presentation, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Statoil focuses on some aspects he believes to be important for the evolution of current and future natural gas trade: Demand, supply and prices, Innovation, Geopolitical environment. The European gas industry is moving into the next century after a remarkable development with extensive infrastructure and solid trade patterns established. The future will bring new challenges. The market will be more transparent and more competitive. Cost efficiency and capacity utilization of existing infrastructure will be key factors in order to exploit production at competitive costs. Big reserves are available, although at more remote locations which call for strong commercial players and strong relations between the producers and the distributors if new big supply projects shall be lifted. Norway has gained a competitive position, but new measures will be needed in order to ensure a competitive position for the commercial companies also in the future. The shape of the gas business has developed continuously and market changes will keep it doing so. Therefore, Business as usual will never be a winning strategy in a world of change.