The world is hungry for more natural gas. The newly reintroduced Current Policies Scenario from the International Energy Agency (IEA) sees global demand rising from today’s 400 Bcf/d to about 475 Bcf/d by 2050, roughly in line with other notable forecasts from the likes of BP and ExxonMobil. OPEC is even more bullish, predicting demand will reach 540 Bcf/d by midcentury. And that doesn't even account the short-term pressures related to the military action against Iran. Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of natural gas. So, where will it come from and what are the biggest issues facing the market? Those are among the major questions addressed at RBN’s recent GasCon 2026 conference and the focus of today’s RBN blog. Warning: Today’s blog includes some blatant plugs for a newly available replay of our event in Houston.
As we did at the conference, let’s start with a little background about where things stand today. Global natural gas production in 2024 was a little more than 400 Bcf/d, with the U.S. (green layer in left graph in Figure 1 below) accounting for about 110 Bcf/d, or more than one-quarter of total supplies. Canada’s 20 Bcf/d (red layer) put total North American production at about 130 Bcf/d. After the U.S., Russia (pink layer) is the next-biggest producer, with the rest supplied by Australia (yellow layer), Qatar (light-orange layer), and several other smaller producers within Other OCED (light-purple layer), Other OPEC (dark-orange layer) and others (blue layer). But these numbers don’t tell the whole story because some countries — notably the U.S., Russia, Qatar and Australia — produce substantially more gas than they consume. In 2024, U.S. demand for natural gas was 91 Bcf/d (orange bar section at left side of right graph), leaving 13 Bcf/d available for export (blue bar section), primarily as LNG. (The global market got a lot tighter on March 2 when Qatar halted LNG production after Iran struck two of its facilities in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.)
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About the song
“How Soon is Now” was written by Johnny Marr and Morrissey and appears as the fifth song on side one of The Smiths’ compilation album, Hatful of Hollow. Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has said the song is “possibly The Smiths’ most enduring record. It’s most people’s favorite, I think.” The song was originally released as a B-side of the single “William, It Was Really Nothing” in January 1985. The song was recorded at Jam Studio in London with John Porter producing. The unique tremolo guitar on the track was inspired by Bo Diddley and was achieved by running Marr’s Epiphone Casino guitar through four old Fender Twin Reverb amplifiers with the tremolo engaged and vibrating in time to the track. Released as a single in the U.K. in January 1985, it went to #16 on the U.K. Singles chart. Personnel on the record were: Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass), and Mike Joyce (drums).
Hatful of Hollow is a U.K. compilation album of various tracks from The Smiths recorded in 1983-84. Producers on the album included John Porter, Roger Pusey, Dale “Buffin” Griffin, and The Smiths. Released in the U.K. in November 1984, the album went to #7 on the U.K. Albums chart. Sire Records eventually released the album in the U.S. in November 1993. Three charting singles were included on the LP.
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982 by singer Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. They released four studio albums, one live album, three EPs, 11 compilation albums and 25 singles. The band broke up in July 1987. As a solo artist, Morrissey has released 13 studio albums, two live albums, two EPS, 12 compilation albums and 67 singles. He continues to record and tour, and released a new single, “Amazona,” from his upcoming studio album, Make-Up is a Lie, due for release in March. He is currently on tour in Europe. Johnny Marr is a successful solo artist, session musician, producer and songwriter. He has released four studio albums, three EPs, four live albums, four soundtrack albums, two compilation albums and 21 singles. He has collaborated with several artists, including The Pretenders, Bryan Ferry, Talking Heads and Pet Shop Boys. He joined Modest Mouse for a three-year period and continues to record and tour. He is currently on a solo tour in the U.S. and begins a European tour in June. Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce continue to work as a rhythm section together and separately. They have worked with artists such as Sinead O'Connor, Suede, Buzzcocks, John Lydon and Badly Drawn Boy.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
