Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 10

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec
Tokyo is using the Olympic Games to pro- mote the country’s green credentials.
Hydrogen has been identified by both the Japanese government and the wider interna- tional community as a key growth technology to promote renewables.
“Hydrogen is very important for us,” said Yas- uhiro Matsuyama, director-general of the energy conservation and renewable energy depart- ment at Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (METI).
“We want to make it a marketable tool for the future. For that we need infrastructure and pipe- lines. Furthermore, hydrogen can be a tradable energyofthefuture.”
However, as well as technological barriers, costs also need to be overcome to make green hydrogen competitive as a fuel.
The IEA’s June 2019 report on hydrogen found that the major economies needed to scale up technologies and bring down costs to allow
hydrogen to become widely used.
It found that 75% of the world’s 2018 hydro-
gen production of 70mn tonnes was sourced from natural gas, with the rest derived from coal and other fossil fuels. A process called steam methane reforming was employed; this emits 8-11 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of hydrogen produced. Only 0.1% of hydrogen came from renewables, such as electrolysis of water.
“Hydrogen can help overcome many difficult energy challenges. It can decarbonise hard-to- abate sectors like steel, chemicals, trucks, ships and planes. Hydrogen can also enhance energy security by diversifying the fuel mix and provid- ing flexibility to balance grids,” said Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in January.
The solar technology used at Fukushima avoids such emissions, and is a major cor- nerstone of Tokyo’s efforts to boost green hydrogen.™
GAS-FIRED GENERATION
FID on Qatari LNG expansion unlikely this year: Rystad
ASIA
QATAR is unlikely to sanction the expan- sion of its giant North Field LNG project this year, Oslobased Rystad Energy said in a recent research note, in light of the collapse in gas prices.
The world’s top LNG exporter plans to raise its liquefaction capacity from 77mn tonnes per year at present to 126mn tpy by 2027, According to Rystad, this project is likely to cost more than $50bn in greenfield investments at the North Field.
Qatar had planned to take a final investment decision (FID) on the project’s first $35bn stage this year, but Rystad does not expect this mile- stone to be reached until the first half of 2021.
Its operator Qatar Petroleum is now re-eval- uating the expansion’s commercial outlook, the consultancy said, owing to low gas prices. The commercial bid deadline for the liquefaction facilities had also been extended to the second quarter of 2020.
“Given the anticipated delays in formal sanc- tioning of the project, Rystad Energy has low- ered its total forecast for capital expenditure in the Middle East, predicting about $21.3bn of
investments will get the go-ahead in the region this year, versus the previous estimate of more than $56bn,” Rystad said.
The expansion’s first phase comprises con- tracts for associated onshore liquefaction and storage facilities. Contractors are to be sought for building four LNG trains, utilities and offsite facilities, a helium recovery unit, non-technical buildings, warehouses, workshops, and associ- ated facilities. Qatar is likely to take an FID on the second stage of the expansion in 2023, at the earliest.
The global LNG market was oversupplied last year as a result of lacklustre gas demand in Asia and a surge in LNG production in the US and other countries. Making matters worse for pro- ducers, the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in weaker gas demand in China, the world’s biggest LNG importer.
Rystad also expects FIDs this year on $12.5bn of gas projects in the UAE, and the delayed Zuluf oilfield expansion in Saudi Arabia, which is tar- geting around 5bn barrels of oil equivalent and is slated to cost $10bn.™
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