Trends in the development of the global liquefied natural gas market and prospects for the implementation of Russian Arctic projects

The environmental agenda, as well as issues of reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, are currently treated as a global trend. In such conditions, developed countries openly and actively declare their plans to switch from coal to natural gas and renewable energy sources in their energy consumption. At the same time, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market is developing at such a pace that in 10–15 years, according to experts, it will bypass the pipeline market. Nevertheless, a significant increase in prices for “blue fuel” at the end of 2021 and the first half of 2022 called into question the reality of following the chosen course in the near future. The study identified the main LNG importers by the end of 2021 (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and India), as well as the key exporters (Australia, Qatar, USA, Russia, Nigeria, Algeria, Malaysia, Oman and Indonesia). The analysis showed that in the medium term, Qatar, the United States and Russia will be able to significantly increase the volume of natural gas and LNG production. Australia, despite its status as the largest exporter of LNG by the end of 2021, due to the shortage of natural gas in the domestic market, will not be able to increase export volumes in the near future. The purpose of the study is to analyze the main trends in the development of the global LNG market in new geopolitical conditions and to determine the prospects for the implementation of Russian Arctic LNG projects. The scientific novelty of the work lies in determining the potential of the largest LNG suppliers in terms of increasing the LNG production and export regarding the forthcoming 5–8 years. The next stage of the work will be the assessment of the prospects for the sale of Russian and American LNG in the European Union and the Asia-Pacific region markets.