Demand for LNG is growing. These projects will help meet it.
Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to grow by around 65% by 2050. We take an early look at three Shell projects that will help unlock new supplies for customers around the world.
At a glance
- Global LNG demand continues to grow – meeting it will require new supply.
- Crux in Australia, Manatee in Trinidad and Tobago, and Train 7 in Nigeria are among Shell’s projects expected to come on stream in the coming years.
- Shell is the world's leading publicly listed LNG supplier, with a diverse LNG portfolio spanning more than 10 countries, providing the scale, reach and flexibility needed to meet customers' evolving energy needs.
On October 5, 2026
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For many countries, liquefied natural gas (LNG) acts as a stabilising force because it is versatile, flexible and reliable. When cooled into LNG, natural gas can be shipped around the world, delivering energy to places that need it to help heat homes, generate electricity and power industry. LNG also offers a lower-carbon alternative to coal in power generation and industry, and to diesel and fuel oil in heavy-duty transport and shipping.
Demand for LNG is expected to grow by about 65% by 2050. Investment in new supplies is essential for meeting that demand. It is why Shell in September announced a final investment decision to double production capacity at LNG Canada. This facility on the country’s west coast exports resources to help meet Asia’s rising energy needs. Shell’s recent acquisition of Canadian energy company ARC Resources will also grow its Integrated Gas and LNG business.
Today, Shell’s portfolio spans more than 10 countries and serves customers in more than 30 countries. Over the coming years, new projects in Australia, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago, will help to deliver more gas to homes, businesses and industries in Asia, Europe and North America.
Where Shell’s LNG comes from — and where it goes
This map shows LNG production facilities and regasification terminals in which Shell has interests or rights, as well as indicative LNG flows worldwide.
Map description
Map description
The world map shows the locations of LNG liquefaction plants and regasification terminals, together with indicative LNG flows around the world.
Blue circles mark LNG liquefaction plants. These are shown in Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Egypt, Nigeria, Qatar, Oman, Brunei and Australia.
Red squares mark regasification terminals. These are shown in the UK, the Netherlands, Gibraltar, India, Singapore, the USA and Mexico.
Dashed blue lines and arrows indicate broad LNG flows around the world, including from Canada towards Asia, from the Caribbean towards Europe, from Nigeria north towards Europe and southwards, from the Middle East towards Southeast Asia, and from Australia towards Asia.
Three enlarged inset maps highlight projects featured in the story:
Manatee, Trinidad and Tobago: shows the planned offshore location of the Manatee platform and the pipeline that will transport gas from Manatee to the Beachfield processing facility and from there to Atlantic LNG.
Nigeria LNG Train 7, Nigeria: shows the location of Nigeria LNG and nearby Port Harcourt.
Crux, Australia: shows the location of the Crux platform and the pipeline that will transport gas from Crux to Prelude.
Crux in Australia: new gas for the next decade
Hundreds of kilometres off Australia’s north-west coast, the new Crux platform will produce natural gas from reservoirs beneath the seabed. The gas will travel through a 160-kilometre pipeline to Prelude, Shell’s floating LNG facility, where it will be turned into LNG and shipped to customers in Asia.
Once producing, Crux will supply Prelude with up to 550 million standard cubic feet of gas a day – almost equivalent to Vietnam’s gas demand in 2024. The new gas will help Prelude produce LNG well into the 2030s.
By tying into existing infrastructure, Crux can be developed at a significantly lower cost than a standalone project. “With Crux, we do not have to start from scratch,” says Emma Purton, who leads the team preparing to operate and maintain the new platform. “We have the people, the experience and much of what we need already in place, which help us do things more efficiently.”
Crux will eventually operate with no one on board. Instead, the team will manage it from Prelude, making periodic visits to the platform. Crux will also generate its own electricity using gas turbines. “It will be self-sufficient power-wise, which is unique for an unmanned facility,” says Emma.
Four years after construction began, the platform is now in place offshore. The next major step is commissioning, including preparing the wells for production. “We are really excited to get through start-up and see Crux up and running,” says Emma.
Production is expected to start in 2027.
Train 7 in Nigeria: adding 8 million tonnes of LNG a year
On Bonny Island, off Nigeria’s southern coast, Nigeria LNG’s six production units, known as trains, turn natural gas into LNG for export. Now, 16 years after the plant’s last major expansion, a seventh production unit is taking shape.
Train 7 will increase the plant’s production capacity from 22 million to 30 million tonnes a year – roughly equivalent to Belgium and the Netherlands’ combined gas demand in 2024.
Construction is taking place while the plant continues to operate around the clock. Once complete, Train 7 will share its power systems, control rooms, storage tanks and export infrastructure with the rest of the plant. "I have never seen a project with this level of integration to the existing asset. That is what makes it exciting – and why bringing it all together safely is so important,” says Gerard Bowers, Governance Manager at Train 7, who helps keep one of the world's largest LNG expansion projects on track, connecting teams on Bonny Island with experts across Shell.
By using infrastructure already in place, Train 7 can add LNG capacity at a lower cost than building a standalone facility from scratch. The project is now more than 90% complete. Much of the work ahead involves testing equipment and control systems that will eventually need to operate together as one train.
“Nigeria LNG has been producing for over 25 years,” says Gerard. “With this latest expansion, we’ll help set the plant and the community up for success for years to come.”
Train 7 is expected to start up in 2027.
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Manatee in Trinidad and Tobago: bringing a major gas field into production
Off Trinidad and Tobago’s southeast coast, Shell is developing one of the country’s largest gas fields ever discovered. At its peak, Manatee is expected to produce around 604 million standard cubic feet of gas a day – enough to heat London and Berlin combined for a year. The project will also help more than double Shell’s current gas production in Trinidad and Tobago.
Gas from Manatee will travel through a 115-kilometre pipeline to the existing Beachfield processing facility. From there, a portion of the gas will go to Atlantic LNG, a liquefaction plant on the south-west coast, where it will be turned into LNG and shipped to customers overseas, including in Europe and North America. The rest will stay in Trinidad and Tobago, helping generate electricity and supply the country’s petrochemical industry.
“Manatee is a great resource, and we can process it using infrastructure that is already in place,” says Jos van Peer, Project Director for Manatee, who leads the team responsible for delivering the project. “That helps reduce costs and delivery times compared with similar projects in the region.”
Manatee will be operated remotely as a normally unmanned offshore platform. Its topsides weigh several thousand tonnes and will house the production unit. They have now left Altamira, Mexico, bound for Trinidad and Tobago, where they will be mounted on the locally manufactured jacket – the steel structure that acts as the platform’s legs.
“There is still a huge amount of work ahead, but we have an incredible team integrating and bringing all these pieces together,” says Jos.
Manatee is expected to start production in 2027.
Why is global demand for LNG expected to grow?
Why is global demand for LNG expected to grow?
Global demand for liquefied natural gas is expected to reach nearly 700 million tonnes a year by 2050, around 65% higher than 2025 levels¹, according to the Shell LNG Outlook 2026.
Growth is being driven by rising energy demand and the need for reliable and flexible energy supplies. Emerging economies in Asia are expected to account for around 40% of global LNG imports by 2050, as they seek to meet growing demand for energy with lower emissions than coal. New sources of electricity demand, including data centres, are also expected to contribute to LNG demand growth.
1. This is calculated using the median figure of the forecasts, 695 MT, we have used for LNG demand by 2050. The range is between 610 and 780 million tonnes a year. Based on 2025 total trade, this is forecast growth of around 65%. These are the same forecast figures that were used in Shell’s Strategic Spotlight on LNG (PDF, 3 MB) (PDF) published in March this year.
What role does Shell play in LNG?
What role does Shell play in LNG?
Shell is a world-leading supplier of LNG, with around 44 million tonnes of equity liquefaction capacity. We are involved across the LNG value chain, from exploring for and producing natural gas, to liquefaction, trading, shipping, regasification and delivering LNG to customers around the world.
We are growing our Integrated Gas and LNG business and aim to increase LNG sales by 4-5% per year through to 2030 [A].
[A] On a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) basis
What is Shell doing to reduce methane emissions?
What is Shell doing to reduce methane emissions?
Shell uses a range of technologies and work practices to detect, monitor, measure, and reduce methane emissions across our operations. In 2025, Shell reduced total methane emissions from assets under our operational control by 78% compared with 2016, from 138,000 tonnes to 31,000 tonnes. Shell also works with suppliers, customers and industry partners to reduce methane emissions across the LNG value chain, from gas production and liquefaction to shipping and delivery.
Why is new oil and gas production still needed today?
Why is new oil and gas production still needed today?
The world still needs energy from hydrocarbons. Fossil fuels, including coal, oil and gas, represented about 80% of global energy consumption in 2024, with oil and gas accounting for 53%, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Shell believes continued investment in oil and gas will be needed to ensure a balanced energy transition. Our investments are needed to maintain oil and gas supplies as existing fields naturally decline at a rate of 4-5% a year, faster than reductions in demand.
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