The world faces a glut of natural gas that will force the US to scrap plans for new import terminals and mothball much of its existing capacity, the International Energy Agency says.

In a draft version of its latest World Energy Outlook, due to be published next week, the IEA predicts over-capacity of gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals will rise to at least 250bn cubic metres by 2015, more than four times the level of spare capacity in 2007.

It says environmental policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 450 parts per million by 2020, far from supporting demand for gas, which emits less carbon than coal in power generation, would cause gas demand to peak in the early 2020s. “Projected global demand points to significant underutilisation of inter-regional pipeline and LNG capacity around the world. This looming glut could have far-reaching effects on gas pricing,” the report says.