LNG and its Impact on Climate Change

Context – The European Union is weaning itself off piped Russian gas by rapidly expanding imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US.

Climate activists are calling it a major setback in the fight against global warming.

Background

• Europe’s dependence on Russia for Natural Gas – Russia is the biggest supplier of natural gas to Europe, which depends on the former for nearly 40% of its natural gas requirements.

• Russia-Ukraine War – Amid the war, Russia has drastically reduced gas supplies to Europe in recent months, with flows via the pipeline operating at just 20% of the agreed-upon volume before the indefinite suspension.

• Shift towards LNG – Presently, Europe is increasing the import of LNG from the US to compensate for lost Russian gas supplies. With this move, the EU has become the biggest LNG importer in the world.

What is LNG?

• LNG is natural gas reduced to a liquid state (liquefaction) through intense cooling to around -161 degrees Celsius (-259 Fahrenheit).
• It is constituted almost wholly of methane — a potent greenhouse gas and can be transported around the world by ship.
• This liquid gas is 600 times smaller than the original volume and is half the weight of water.
• After arriving at its destination, the cargo is regasified in a floating terminal and redistributed through pipelines.

Applications of LNG

1. Power Generation – LNG can be used to generate electricity in power plants, which can be a cleaner-burning alternative to coal.

2. Transportation – LNG can be used as a transportation fuel for ships, trucks, and buses.

3. Industrial – LNG can be used as a fuel for industrial processes such as heating, cooling and providing energy for chemical reactions.

4. Residential and Commercial – LNG can be used for heating, cooking, and generating electricity in homes and businesses in areas without access to natural gas pipelines.

5. Peaking Power – LNG can be used as a backup fuel for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar which can be intermittent.

6. As a feedstock – LNG can be used as a feedstock in chemical and petrochemical industries.

Economic Feasibility of LNG

• High cost of liquefaction – despite LNG’s export potential, the high cost of liquefaction and producing LNG has limited its market.
• Losses – Between 10-25% of the energy of the gas is being lost during the liquefaction process.
• Costly transport – The cooling, liquefying and transport processes, as well as the post-transport regasification procedures, also require a lot of energy.

Climate Impact of LNG

• Greenhouse gas emissions – The extraction, processing, and transportation of natural gas, including LNG, can result in the release of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide.

• Energy-intensive – The process of liquefying natural gas is energy-intensive and can result in emissions of greenhouse gases.

• Methane leakages – The leakage of methane during the extraction, processing, and transportation of natural gas and LNG can significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential that is 28 times higher than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time horizon.

• Imported emissions – The numerous stages required to take LNG from the wellhead to the market lead to a “very high imported emissions intensity” in comparison to piped gas, whose emissions are limited to upstream and transport and processing.

• High emission intensity – LNG emits 14 times as much carbon as solar power when producing the equivalent amount of energy, and 50 times as much carbon as wind power.

Way Forward

Overall, the impact of LNG on climate will depend on the specific circumstances of its extraction, processing, transportation, and end use. While it can have lower emissions than some fossil fuels, it is still a fossil fuel and has an impact on climate change. It’s important to ensure that the LNG industry is regulated and that emissions are properly monitored and controlled to minimize its impact on the climate.

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