Wood Mackenzie

Mexico's Energía Costa Azul (ECA) LNG project reached a significant milestone in July as the Pacific Success arrived at the facility on 6 July before departing Ensenada on 7 July carrying what Wood Mackenzie vessel tracking data indicates was a fully loaded LNG cargo, and which Sempra Infrastructure confirmed asECA’s first LNG export on 8 July. The vessel's draft increased from 9.4 metres on arrival to 11.5 metres on departure, equivalent to 96% of its summer load maximum.

Asian LNG demand is heading for a second consecutive year of decline. Wood Mackenzie forecasts Asia Pacific demand at 257 Mt in 2026, down from 268 Mt in 2025 and a peak of 278 Mt in 2024, as the Middle East conflict tightens global supply and pushes spot prices to levels that are forcing buyers across the region to cut volumes, switch fuels and accelerate supply diversification.

The onset of the weather conditions known as El Niño was identified in the Pacific Ocean last month, with wide-ranging implications for energy. An El Niño can cause heatwaves and droughts in some places, heavy rain or cooler weather in others, and a temporary rise in global temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization forecast last week that the coming El Niño would be a strong one, creating an increased likelihood of extreme weather.

Back in January we predicted that an increasingly fragmented world would define the trajectory of the metals and mining sector in 2026. As we pass the halfway point, that expectation is certainly playing out — if not exactly as expected. In our metals and mining half-time report for 2026, Wood Mackenzie’s expert analysts take stock of industry trends in H1 and explain their implications for the rest of 2026 and beyond. Can strong supply growth continue?

Wood Mackenzie has published analysis warning that accelerating declines in global fertility rates present a material risk to long-term energy demand projections, with a UN low-birth-rate scenario placing peak global population at 8.9 billion in 2053, followed by a contraction to 7.0 billion by 2100.

South Korea's ambition to build one of the world's largest AI and semiconductor manufacturing hubs risks running ahead of the electricity system needed to power it. New analysis from Wood Mackenzie finds that the country's flagship KRW 4,700 trillion (US$3.1 trillion) national mega-project, including the planned KRW 800 trillion semiconductor and AI data centre cluster in the Honam region, faces a growing power supply challenge unless grid investment and electricity market reforms accelerate.

The recent European Commission decision to ban PV inverters and power-conversion systems (PCS) from China and other countries the Commission considers high risk, from all European Union (EU)-funded clean energy projects may affect around 14% of forecasted European solar PV demand from 2026 to 2030, totalling over 28 GWdc of PV inverter demand, according to new analysis from Wood Mackenzie.

Wood Mackenzie is proud to be an official Silver Sponsor and Knowledge Partner of African Energy Week 2025 African Energy Week (AEW) is the African Energy Chamber’s annual event, uniting African energy leaders, global investors and executives from across the public and private sector for four days of intense dialogue on the future of the African energy industry.

The impact of the war in Iran on energy markets isn’t the only new risk factor strategic planners will consider as they refresh their outlooks in the coming months. No less important is how the intensifying downward trend in fertility rates might affect global populations and energy demand in the longer term. Peter Martin, Head of Economics, and Prakash Sharma, Head of Energy Transition, shared their initial thoughts with me.

Wood Mackenzie's latest aerial surveillance of the Whitewater Midstream’s Blackcomb Pipeline corridor, conducted in mid-May 2026, points to a project that is making solid progress overall. However, construction sequencing and compression readiness will determine whether the system enters service at full capacity or in a constrained early phase.