Suchergebnisse

The Global Methane Pledge to reduce emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030, was signed by more than 100 countries at the COP26 Conference in November 2021. Reducing methane emissions from fossil fuel sources by up to 75 per cent by 2030 has been identified as an essential contribution to reducing the rate of global temperature increase. The EU Methane Strategy proposed the establishment of a methane intensity standard for domestically produced and imported fossil fuels, with an initial focus on emissions from natural gas and LNG imports, however no such standard is included in the 2021 legislative proposals. Of the six major pipeline gas and LNG suppliers to Europe, Norway has progressed MRV and reduced emissions to a much greater extent than other major exporters to Europe. The complexity of the US LNG export supply chain, with huge numbers of production locations and multiple pipelines and processing plants contrasts with the relative simplicity of the Qatari supply chain. In the case of Russia, the focus is on Gazprom's long transmission pipelines, while Algerian and Nigerian companies are only just beginning to address these issues. European buyers will need to establish supply chain emission values with exporting companies, and possibly also with governments. Asian importers will need to agree similar values with their LNG suppliers. The SGE and GIIGNL methodologies, published in late 2021, combined with the study of Cheniere's 2018 cargos and its commitment to provide individual cargo emission tags from 2022, are important milestones in the creation of frameworks for establishing LNG supply chain emission values. By contrast, `carbon-neutral' LNG cargos lack MRV ransparency and therefore environmental credibility. Transparent MRV of emissions has become a non-negotiable requirement for the international gas community. A lack of this information undermines claims that natural gas can play a significant ongoing role in the low carbon energy transition. The longer it takes to establish such documentation, the more likely it is that countries will adopt alternative energy options.

Pressure is mounting on the natural gas and LNG community to reduce methane emissions and this is most urgent in EU countries following the adoption of much tougher greenhouse gas reduction targets of 2030 and the publication of the European Commission's Methane Strategy. With rapidly declining indigenous EU production and therefore rising import dependence, there are increasing calls for emissions from imported pipeline gas and LNG to be quantified and based on actual measurements, as opposed to standard emission factors. The Methane Strategy promises to be a significant milestone in that process. Companies which are supplying (or intending to supply) natural gas to the EU - the largest global import market for pipeline gas and a very significant market for LNG - would be well advised to pay close attention to how the regulation of methane emissions is unfolding, and to make an immediate and positive response. Failure to do so could accelerate the demise of natural gas in European energy balances faster than would otherwise have been the case, and shorten the time available for transition to decarbonised gases - specifically hydrogen - using existing natural gas infrastructure. This EU initiative will (and arguably already has) attracted attention from non-EU governments and companies involved in global gas and LNG trade. We have already seen deliveries of 'carbon neutral' LNG cargos to Asia, as well as a long-term LNG contract in which the greenhouse gas content of cargos will be measured, reported and verified (MRV) according to an agreed methodology. Natural gas and LNG exports, if based on these standards or those set out in the EU Methane Strategy, may be able to command premium prices from buyers eager to demonstrate their own GHG reduction credentials to governments, customers and civil society.

Norwegian commitment to investing in the Troll natural gas field in the North Sea; implications for the energy balance in Western Europe.

SOVIET NATURAL GAS EXPORTS HAVE ACHIEVED A POLITICAL PROMINENCE THAT WAS UNTHINKABLE A FEW YEAR AGO. IN THE PECKING ORDER OF DISPUTES WITHIN THE ATLANTIC ALLIANCE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GAS PIPELINE BETWEEN WESTERN SIBERIA AND WESTERN EUROPE HAS BECOME SECOND ONLY TO THE PLANNED DEPLOYMENT OF NEW THEATER NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN WESTERN EUROPE.