Gas Glut

The report finds that oil- and gas-fired power plants in development increased by 13% in the last year to 783 GW, with Asia accounting for nearly two-thirds of this capacity. If built, these projects would cost an estimated US$611 billion and generate 41,239 million tonnes of CO2e lifetime emissions. The analysis highlights that China leads global development, while the United States possesses the largest existing capacity. The report further challenges the reliability of fossil fuels during extreme weather and notes that renewables with storage are now cheaper than gas-fired power in many regions, including China.

• Global oil- and gas-fired power plant capacity in development—including announced, pre-construction, and construction phases—rose by 13% over the past year to reach 783 GW.
• The total estimated capital expenditure for the 783 GW of plants in development is US$611 billion, with a projected lifetime emissions potential of 41,239 million tonnes CO2e, which exceeds six and a half years of total United States emissions.
• Asia is the primary driver of global expansion, hosting nearly two-thirds of the world's oil- and gas-fired capacity in development, totaling 514 GW at an estimated cost of US$385 billion.
• China leads the world in new gas capacity development, accounting for 21% of the global total (approximately 164 GW), and represents a quarter of all gas expansion currently in the construction phase.
• The United States maintains the world's largest existing oil- and gas-fired capacity, representing 26% of the global total, and ranks fifth globally in planned gas-fired expansion with 39 GW in development.
• The report argues that fossil fuel power is unreliable during extreme weather, citing an Arctic blast in the U.S. where over 100 GW of coal- and gas-fired generation failed, with gas plants accounting for over 70% of unplanned outages.
• Economic analysis indicates that the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for wind and solar with storage is now lower than that of gas-fired power on a global average and specifically within China.

APA

Martos, J., Ajaz, W., Clark, G., Elmagraby, N., Hassan, H., Juta, C., & Sidorovskaya-Fretz, N. (2023). Gas Glut. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/Gas-Glut-2023-GEM_11.pdf

Chicago

Martos, Jenny, Warda Ajaz, Gregor Clark, Norah Elmagraby, Harvey Hassan, Christine Juta, and Natalia Sidorovskaya-Fretz. Gas Glut. Global Energy Monitor, 2023. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/Gas-Glut-2023-GEM_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martos |first1=Jenny |last2=Ajaz |first2=Warda |last3=Clark |first3=Gregor |last4=Elmagraby |first4=Norah |last5=Hassan |first5=Harvey |last6=Juta |first6=Christine |last7=Sidorovskaya-Fretz |first7=Natalia |title=Gas Glut |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=September 2023 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/Gas-Glut-2023-GEM_11.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martos2023gas, author = {Martos, Jenny and Ajaz, Warda and Clark, Gregor and Elmagraby, Norah and Hassan, Harvey and Juta, Christine and Sidorovskaya-Fretz, Natalia}, title = {{Gas Glut}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/Gas-Glut-2023-GEM_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }