Editorial comment
Happy New Year everyone!
We’re only a couple of weeks into 2024, and the awards season has already started. The Golden Globe Awards and 75th Creative Arts Emmy Awards both took place on the same weekend (6 and 8 January).
Register for free »
Get started now for absolutely FREE, no credit card required.
HBO’s The Last of Us was the biggest winner, with eight Creative Art Emmys awards – the most of the night – while The Bear, Wednesday, and The White Lotus were all tied with four awards each.1
Meanwhile at the Golden Globes, the cultural phenomenon of ‘Barbenheimer’ was still present, with both Barbie and Oppenheimer highly nominated (nine and eight awards, respectively). Oppenheimer dominated this battle, winning five awards including best drama, best actor, and best director. Nevertheless, Barbie didn’t go home empty-handed, having won the new ‘Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award’ and award for best original song for Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?’2
With 2023 having come to an end, the LNG industry can also hand out some ‘awards’ of its own. China reclaimed its title as the world’s largest LNG importer, surging to 8.22 million t in December, the highest since January 2021 according to Kpler.3
Perhaps most notable is the US overtaking Qatar and Australia to become the world’s largest exporter of LNG for the very first time in the industry’s history.4
The US has benefitted partly from a rising demand for natural gas globally, especially in Europe, where countries are increasing efforts to move away from Russian gas following the Russia-Ukraine conflict that started in February 2022.
And, with over 12 approved LNG export terminals (seven of which are currently under construction), and another six proposed, there is a good chance the US will hold on to the title for the near future.5 You’ll be able to gain more insight into the US LNG market in the second edition of our North America supplement, coming out later this year.
It may be unknown at present what the year will hold for LNG, but that’s what LNG Industry is here for, to bring you all the latest updates, trends, developments, and more. And what better way to start than with the January 2024 issue?
The issue begins with a keynote from Kalkine on p.10, which analyses how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to an unprecedented jump in LNG prices, and how this could present opportunities to emerging markets, such as the US.
Another key trend to keep an eye on are technology advancements. There have been some key trends in recent years, such as digital twins and automation, and there is no reason to believe this won’t continue. Starting on p.36, AVEVA’s article looks at the importance of business and digital strategy alignment with an operational excellence management system in the content of a digital twin.
References
- ‘SMYTH, T., ‘All the Winners of the Creative Arts Emmys’, Vulture, (7 January 2024), www.vulture.com/2024/01/creative-arts-emmys-winners.html
- ‘Winners & Nominees’, Golden Globe Awards, (2024), https://goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/
- ‘Asia’s LNG imports hit record, but supply surge keeps price muted’, Reuters, (5 January 2024), https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/asias-lng-imports-hit-record-supply-surge-keeps-price-muted-russell-2024-01-05/
- SHARMA, G., ‘U.S. Overtakes Qatar To Become The World’s Top LNG Exporter’, Forbes, (5 January 2024), www.forbes.com/sites/gauravsharma/2024/01/05/us-overtakes-qatar-to-become-the-worlds-top-lng-exporter
- ‘U.S. LNG Export Terminals – Existing, Approved not Yet Built, and Proposed,’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, (26 December 2023), https://cms.ferc.gov/media/us-lng-export-terminals-existing-approved-not-yet-built-and-proposed
