Shell is standing by its multi-billion-dollar bet on LNG. There are several reasons why it may be wrong to do so

Europe’s largest oil companies shared a common theme in their latest second-quarter financial reports: Shell, Total and BP all partly blamed tepid gas markets for their lacklustre earnings. Hyped as the fuel of the future, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has become an increasingly tricky commodity for the industry to manage.

This could be because of three powerful economic forces now converging and complicating the outlook for the fuel.

Firstly, producers continue to invest billions of dollars into building new LNG projects, despite a growing glut of supply.

Secondly, climate change is prompting some consumers, perhaps for the first time, to question the fuel’s long-term green credentials.

Finally,…