Nervous Money

The report highlights a significant downturn in the LNG sector, characterized by widespread final investment decision (FID) delays, cost overruns, and a shift in perception of LNG from a climate solution to a climate problem. While import capacity continues to expand rapidly, particularly in Asia and Brazil, export projects—especially in North America—are struggling with financing and competition from lower-cost producers in Qatar and Russia.

• A significant portion of global LNG export capacity is facing serious disruptions or delays in reaching final investment decisions (FID). As of May 2021, at least 21 export terminals, representing 265 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) or 38% of the 700 MTPA of export capacity under development worldwide, report FID delays or other disruptions.
• North America is the most affected region regarding export project instability, accounting for 64% of global export capacity in construction or pre-construction and 18 of the 26 projects reporting financing difficulties, including 10 of 18 terminals reporting FID delays.
• The perception of LNG has shifted from being a transition fuel to a climate liability, driven by methane leakage and net-zero scenarios. The IEA's 2021 Net Zero by 2050 scenario suggests that inter-regional LNG trade would need to decline from 310 million tonnes in 2020 to approximately 118 million tonnes by 2050.
• Global LNG import capacity is expanding rapidly, with enough projects in construction or pre-construction to increase capacity by 70%. Asia leads this growth, with 70.3% of global regasification capacity in construction or pre-construction, specifically led by China (32%), India (10.6%), and Thailand (7.1%).
• Brazil has become a significant hotspot for LNG import infrastructure following the March 2021 New Gas Law, which ended the monopoly of the state-owned firm Petrobras. There are 13 regasification projects under development in Brazil, 91% of which (37.8 MTPA) are floating storage regasification units (FSRUs).
• The Mozambique LNG Terminal, a US$20 billion project, declared force majeure on April 26, 2021, following an insurgent attack on the town of Palma, illustrating the vulnerability of massive capital projects to political instability.
• High-cost LNG developers, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, face existential threats from lower-cost producers in Qatar and the Russian Arctic, as well as the declining cost of renewable energy alternatives, which are projected to fall by 45% to 55% between 2019 and 2030.

APA

Plante, L., & Nace, T. (2021). Nervous Money. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_LNGTerminals2021_r7_11.pdf

Chicago

Plante, Lydia, and Ted Nace. Nervous Money. Global Energy Monitor, 2021. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_LNGTerminals2021_r7_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Plante |first1=Lydia |last2=Nace |first2=Ted |title=Nervous Money |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=June 2021 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_LNGTerminals2021_r7_11.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{plante2021nervous, author = {Plante, Lydia and Nace, Ted}, title = {{Nervous Money}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_LNGTerminals2021_r7_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }