Cheniere publishes updated life cycle assessment study
US LNG developer Cheniere Energy said November 12 it had published a peer-reviewed update of its life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensities associated with its LNG value chain.
The update, published in the American Chemical Society’s Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering Journal, builds on Cheniere’s first LCA study, published in 2021.
The updated study deploys an algorithm that modeled natural gas pathways throughout Cheniere’s supply chain in 2022, from natural gas production through transmission networks to Cheniere’s two liquefaction terminals, at Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas.
It found that, in all cases, the 2022 emissions intensity of Cheniere’s delivered LNG was lower than those presented in a 2019 study by the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
The study also leverages Cheniere’s multi-year Quantification, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (QMRV) program by integrating measurement data from its facilities and collaborations with natural gas producers, midstream providers, shippers and experts at leading academic institutions.
Using emissions measurement data from across the supply chain, the study found the emissions intensities of Cheniere’s LNG, when used in importing countries for power generation, are 20-28% lower than the NETL study. The study also found that integration of measurement data into LCAs is critical to accurately characterise the differences in GHG emissions from natural gas supply chains, Cheniere said.
“This study reinforces the environmental competitiveness of Cheniere’s LNG, while demonstrating the value of direct emissions measurement to better understand the environmental footprint of LNG and identify areas for improvement,” Cheniere CEO Jack Fusco said. “We are charting a path forward with concrete data, science and actions to ensure LNG and natural gas continue to play a role in the global transition to a lower-carbon future for decades to come.”
The updated study was co-authored by individuals from the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, Queen Mary University of London’s School of Engineering and Materials Science, Colorado School of Mines’ Payne Institute for Public Policy, Rystad Energy, KeyLogic Systems and Cheniere.