This month’s Horizons examines a pivotal shift underway in global gas markets and what it could mean for Europe’s struggling industrial base.
After years of record energy prices, supply shocks and tightening decarbonisation targets, Europe’s industrial producers have seen competitiveness erode sharply. High gas and power prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine accelerated plant closures, reduced output and fuelled concerns about long-term deindustrialisation. But relief may finally be in sight.
A wave of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply – led by the US and Qatar – is set to transform global gas markets. As new capacity comes online, European traded gas prices are forecast to fall significantly through the 2030s, narrowing the energy cost gap with the US and China. For energy-intensive industries, cheaper gas and power could provide a vital lifeline.
Our Horizons Live session brings together Wood Mackenzie experts to unpack what lower energy prices could mean for European industry and why falling prices alone may not be enough to restore global competitiveness.
Key themes include:
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Europe’s competitiveness crisis: How high gas and electricity prices have reshaped industrial production, investment and trade across the continent.
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The LNG supply surge: Why massive LNG investments are tipping global markets into surplus – and how this will drive down European gas prices.
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Winners and losers: Which industrial sectors stand to benefit most from cheaper energy, and which face continued pressure despite falling prices.
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Power prices and carbon costs: How lower gas prices interact with carbon pricing, renewable investment and grid costs in shaping electricity bills.
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Policy trade-offs: Why decarbonisation ambitions, regulation and carbon costs could blunt the competitiveness gains from cheaper energy.
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Global implications: What Europe’s energy price reset means for LNG suppliers, utilities, US competitiveness and global gas demand.
Join us live as our panel explores whether cheaper LNG can truly revive European industry and what governments, businesses and investors must do to turn lower prices into lasting competitive advantage.
Our panel:
- Gavin Thompson, Vice Chairman, Energy – Europe, Middle East & Africa
- Peter Martin, Head of Economics, Macroeconomics