From the Editor: Communicating innovation [Gas in Transition]
There is a growing sense of frustration in the natural gas industry that was very evident in the discussions that took place at the LNG2023 conference in Vancouver in July. The value of natural gas as a means of combating emissions, by replacing coal and providing a reliable baseload energy source to support intermittent renewables, is not sufficiently recognised by policymakers. And neither is the industry’s commitment to and continuing progress in addressing its direct emissions, including methane, as demonstrated by the work underway by various voluntary initiatives, such as the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, and the growing market for certified gas, for example.
There is also a recognition that more can and should be done to increase awareness of the innovations taking place in the industry – technological and otherwise – that continue to strengthen both the environmental and economic case for natural gas. Hoping to address this latter issue, LNG2023 saw the launch of the Global Gas Innovation Roundtable, which will consist of a global network of experts with the aim of advancing understanding about these innovations.
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The creation of the roundtable, supported by the Canadian Gas Association (CGA), will be the “legacy” of LNG2023, the conference’s executive director Mel Ydreos said in a press conference on July 12.
“The mission of the roundtable is to ensure that governments, policymakers, multilateral institutions and energy thought leaders have a greater understanding of the technology and innovation underway that will improve the performance – environmental and otherwise – of the gas sector,” Ydreos said.
He stressed that this did not just mean technological innovation. “It’s about commercial innovation, it’s about digital innovation and technological innovation,” he said. “Our aim will be to ensure that governments around the world are aware of the significant efforts happening in the industry in this area.”
Spreading that awareness is not so essay, as there are so many developments underway, he said. “And currently there isn’t a forum by which we’re able to amplify the message around how much innovation is going on.”
The roundtable will build on the work of the Gas Pathways website, an initiative of CGA Enterprises that is operated and maintained by NGW, and also focused on industry innovation.
“It’s a platform that actively engages with and amplifies all these things that we’re talking about,” Ydreos said. “We’ve been able to organically grow that platform, and we’re well on our way to establishing it as the most authoritative platform that deals with innovation in the gas sector.”
The roundtable, meanwhile, “will be guided by an advisory board of the most senior CEO and energy professionals from around the world,” Ydreos said. “They will guide the focus of the roundtable and what the roundtable will be doing.” The roundtable will also release reports regularly that “clarify what’s going on, and hopefully distil and in an easily consumable way, present some of these innovations.”
Delving into CCUS
The first of these reports was unveiled at LNG2023, and entitled CCUS as a Tool for LNG Innovation. The report explores how carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) can help LNG producers lower their emissions, as because LNG production is very energy-intensive, these emissions can be significant and undermine environmental benefits downstream.
The report presents four CCUS project case studies – one in North America, one in Europe, one in the Middle East and one in Australia. And it provides an overview of the technology’s deployment worldwide, noting that as of September 2022, there were 30 CCUS facilities operating commercially with a further 164 under development. It also looks at the 11 key CCUS hubs that are planned around the world, and lists the 90 pilot and demonstration CCUS facilities that aim to improve the technology’s efficiency.
“So we’re starting to see the commercialisation of CCUS and it’s going to be very important for the industry, particularly in the future as it manages its emissions profile,” Ydreos explained.
But CCUS is just one solution for reducing the environmental footprint of LNG, alongside others such as electrification, hydrogen and increased energy efficiency, the report notes. So while the technology “holds a lot of promise, it isn’t a perfect solution – so this report also presents the complexities and difficulties, from technology to costs, that make the uptake of CCUS challenging.”
“We present the application of CCUS. Where does it make sense? Where does it not make sense,” Ydreos said. “It’s about being very objective about the application of this technology.”
For example, CCUS can work well for natural gas processing and liquefaction, but it is not a good fit for natural gas transport.
“We begin to lay out where the greatest opportunities are for the deployment of CCUS, and then we conclude with advice to government policymakers on how they can support the adoption of CCUS and its commercialisation,” Ydreos said.
The report concludes that CCUS “has been demonstrated to be safe, effective and scalable,” but notes that “substantial challenges exist – both technical and financial.”
“As a result, the suitability of CCUS compared to other decarbonisation options (such as electrification or fuel switching) depends greatly on specific circumstances that are shaped by geography, government policy and local industrial context,” the report states. Given the pressure the LNG industry faces to address its emissions quickly and significantly, though, the report stresses that “as a proven technology that can be easily integrated into LNG processes, producers should strongly consider CCUS as part of the suite of solutions to achieve decarbonisation goals.”
Discussions are underway with many CEOs across the world about the roundtable, Ydreos said, and they recognise its value and are eager to lend their advice.
“We plan to be not only producing reports, but also engaging in major forums around the world in order to push the agenda of innovation, including some digital outreach, to establish the roundtable as a credible and needed roundtable for the energy world,” he said.
By better communicating its innovations, the natural gas industry can hopefully impact policy, so that natural gas can contribute more than it already does towards a lower-emissions future.