Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has urged global energy leaders to embrace deeper collaboration to stabilise LNG supply, enhance affordability for emerging markets, and secure long-term energy expansion in an increasingly fragmented and uncertain world.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Philip Mshelbila, made the call while speaking on the theme, “Energy Expansion in a Challenging Global Trade Environment,” at the World LNG Summit & Awards in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mshelbila warned that without coordinated action across the entire LNG value chain, the world risks deepening the energy divide, undermining energy security, and slowing progress toward a balanced, lower-carbon global energy mix.

According to him, geopolitical tensions, unilateral national policies and sanctions shaping today’s energy market require a new model of LNG contracting — one that extends beyond conventional price and volume terms.

He said:

“To safeguard global energy security from the risks of geopolitics and unilateral policies, LNG contracts must evolve from simply defining volume and price to actively managing sovereign risk through diversified supply sources, flexible delivery routes and adaptive contract terms.”

Mshelbila emphasised that global energy expansion could stagnate unless structural hurdles around LNG supply, pricing, financing and decarbonisation are urgently addressed.

He said the current status quo poses serious risks, especially for developing economies struggling with volatile gas prices.

Reflecting on shifting trade patterns since the 2022 supply shock, he noted that the LNG market has witnessed a renewed appetite for long-term contracts, even as short-term agreements remain attractive.

This dual demand, he said, is driven by heightened global uncertainty and the desire of buyers and producers to lock in supply security.

Addressing how LNG can continue to meet growing global energy needs, the NLNG Chief Executive highlighted the importance of three core pillars — availability, affordability and decarbonisation.

He explained that while natural gas is often viewed as a transition fuel, its relevance will extend far beyond the next few decades if these pillars are strengthened.

Mshelbila pointed to significant supply-expansion projects in the United States and Qatar, along with NLNG’s own Train 7 development, which is set to add eight million tonnes per annum of new capacity. These investments, he said, are critical to meeting expected long-term demand growth.

He, however, cautioned that affordability remains LNG’s most critical challenge. Persistently high prices, he argued, have forced several developing nations to revert to cheaper but more carbon-intensive fuels such as coal — undermining global climate ambitions.