Doha, Qatar: The 21st International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG2026) strengthens Qatar’s leading position in the LNG industry. The event highlights the significant developments in the global energy sector and the growing role of LNG as a key component in achieving energy security.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of LNG2026, Menelaos (Mel) Ydreos
(pictured), Secretary General of the International Gas Union (IGU) highlighted the importance of Qatar hosting the conference. “Qatar is a leader in the LNG industry bringing the world here so we can have these discussions, debates, sessions and showcase innovations.
“Qatar has been a pioneer in the production and service of LNG for many years and the country plays a critical role particularly now that they are expanding their reliability of supply which is needed,” he said.
Ydreos added, “We are delighted to be back in Qatar. The conference is an opportunity to get stakeholders, discussions around innovations the industry is going through and how we are responding to demands for energy.
“We are in an era of energy additions and it will take several decades before we potentially could reach that but we need to bring significant amount of people out of energy poverty and we need to continue to enable economies to grow and gas particularly LNG helps that.”
He further said, “Our role as an International Gas Union is to ensure that the information that the stakeholders, policymakers have is credible, it’s realistic, not ideological. And our role is to ensure, through many of our reports that we regularly publish, provide the data and the proof points that supports our claim. We believe that gas, including LNG, enhances humanity and global growth.”
Commenting regarding the importance of investment in gas infrastructure, Ydreos noted that there are many elements of gas infrastructure investment that must continue. “We start with the upstream because naturally there are depleting reservoirs out there that need to increase their deliverability, we need to invest in supply. Then we need to invest in the infrastructure that takes the gas from the fields to where it’s needed, including the LNG terminals.
“We need investment in liquefaction plants. We need investments in the shipping that moves the product around, and ultimately downstream liquefaction, and then from there, the infrastructure that’s needed to get again the gas to the power plants, to industry, to where it’s needed,” he added.
LNG2026 conference explores the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities across the entire LNG value chain. It connects with world-leading experts, decision-makers, and stakeholders, unlock high-value deals, and shape the future of the LNG market.
