The global LNG (liquefied natural gas) sector is entering a historic chapter, with analysts expecting it to grow by 50% from 2025 to 2030; its largest growth cycle to date. A significant share of this new capacity is expected to come online in the 2026 to 2028 period, led by projects in the United States of America, Qatar and other regions that have already reached final investment decision.
The LNG marketplace’s development aims to reinforce energy security, stabilise supply chains and meet rising demand in Asia and Europe, where it plays a critical role in diversifying away from pipeline dependence. In Africa, LNG is showing strong growth, with the 2026 to 2028 period marking an important delivery window that will see the continent becoming a much stronger anchor in global gas markets. Countries like Nigeria, Mozambique and Angola are at the forefront of this growth.
Expanding LNG capacity at speed involves both an engineering and construction challenge and a coordination challenge. Without the right digital foundation, the surge in projects risks creating complexity rather than capability.
The LNG trilemma
LNG operators are navigating a three-way pressure point: secure supply, lower emissions and tighter costs, all at once. Energy security is essential as countries seek to reduce vulnerability and ensure reliable fuel access. At the same time, inflation and cost volatility are squeezing margins, while sustainability expectations are rising, with ’greener LNG’ standards and emissions performance under sharper scrutiny. This mix forces new decision making, which means that throughput alone is no longer enough; reliability, safety, efficiency and emissions reduction must improve together.
The LNG industry’s expansion is in essence a ’systems of systems’, which includes upstream supply, liquefaction trains, shipping, regasification and downstream distribution. Each new asset adds variables, such as people, processes, equipment, controls, data, suppliers, maintenance, regulation and emissions reporting. More assets don’t automatically mean more capability, and without digital coordination, they mean more complexity. That’s why digital transformation is shifting from a reporting layer to the operating backbone that makes scale possible.
Establishing the digital backbone
LNG growth reveals an important distinction: structure is repeatable, but optimisation is not. Repeatable structure means standardising how data is captured, contextualised, governed and used across sites, so that what works at one plant can be scaled to others. Optimisation, however, is dynamic as it depends on operating conditions, equipment health, energy availability, demand, emissions constraints and risk, which are all subject to continuous change. The answer is therefore a digital backbone that can do both: provide repeatable structure while enabling continuous optimisation.
AVEVA, Schneider Electric’s industrial software arm, enables the digital backbone through the following capabilities:
• Captures real-time data from sensors, systems and industrial devices.
• Structures data for reuse through contextual models and governance.
• Contextualises operational conditions and provides consistent asset frameworks.
• Offers insight through diagnostics and predictive analytics.
• Visualises information in dashboards that match how teams actually work.
• Simulates future scenarios using dynamic simulation and digital twins.
Schneider Electric delivers the convergence of IT, operational technology and engineering systems, connecting layers such as HMI, SCADA, DCS, edge and IoT into an architecture that supports secure visibility and optimisation at scale.
The following real-world examples demonstrate the digital backbone in action:
• Nigeria LNG: Transitioned from spreadsheets to an AVEVA digital twin that merged engineering and real-time plant data, improving visualisation, enabling predictive analytics and reducing plant losses while boosting uptime.
• Cheniere Energy: Faced with the complexity of nine LNG trains, the company applied AVEVA’s data management and asset frameworks to cut time to production, streamline commissioning and improve reliability.
• Cameron LNG: Closed daily gaps in time to decision by giving field staff direct access to operational data through Schneider Electric and AVEVA solutions, reducing delays, strengthening safety reporting and increasing workforce engagement.
Schneider Electric believes LNG’s digital backbone must be active: a system that senses, adapts and continuously improves decision making across the value chain, rather than a static archive of information. The LNG sector is not only racing to build, but also racing to make faster decisions with better information and less risk.
| Tel: | +27 11 254 6400 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.se.com/za/en/ |
| Articles: | More information and articles about Schneider Electric South Africa |
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version