Page 5 - GLNG Week 13

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG
Ultimately, Singapore’s Straits Times reported, Pavilion is targeting carbon-neutral LNG, which it hopes will become the norm across the industry. This is in line with the net zero emissions target, which a growing num- ber of energy companies have been adopting – though it is currently unclear how COVID-19 will affect such goals.
Currently, according to Reuters, carbon-neu- tral LNG typically involves companies investing in nature-based emissions-reduction projects in order to offset the emissions from exploration and production.
The idea of carbon-neutral LNG is still a rel- atively new one. Royal Dutch Shell announced in June 2019 that it had struck deals to deliver such carbon-neutral LNG cargoes to GS Energy and Tokyo Gas the following month. Shell used nature-based carbon credits to offset the full carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by this LNG – from exploring for and producing the natural gas, to use by the consumer after delivery.
Other initiatives to minimise emissions from the LNG industry include designing liquefac- tion terminals that run on electric power rather than being fuelled by natural gas. An example is Freeport LNG on the US Gulf Coast, which has described itself as the first major eLNG plant, using electric motor-driven technology. Two projects currently under construction – and potentially delayed by COVID-19 – in the Cana- dian province of British Columbia, meanwhile, plan to use hydropower for their refrigeration operations.
While COVID-19 is likely to result in a slow- down in the number of LNG projects being sanctioned in the nearer term, it would not be surprising if closer attention was paid globally to
what steps future developers are taking to mini- mise emissions from their terminals.
What next?
According to Pavilion’s Barnaud, ways to cal- culate GHG emissions for single cargo transac- tions already exist, but there is no standardised and verifiable methodology for quantifying and reporting emission levels.
“We expect this methodology to become standardised and certified as a common industry framework, paving the way towards more envi- ronmentally responsible and sustainable natu- ral gas strategies,” he was quoted by the Straits Times as saying.
“The idea is that the statement of green- house gas [GHG] emissions will eventually be issued on a per cargo basis via electronic means designed to align with existing cargo delivery documentation,” he added.
According to Barnaud, Pavilion is in talks with several organisations that share its aims for carbon neutrality in the supply, trade and use of energy. The next steps, he said, are to further the dialogue, in which Pavilion hopes to engage other stakeholders, including terminal operator Singapore LNG (SLNG), generation companies, government agency Enterprise Singapore and shipping and commercial partners.
“We see the need to build partnerships around standardisation, certification and price transparency for greenhouse gas emissions reduction or offset certificates in Asia – and eventually to develop a marketplace and trading hub,” Barnaud was quoted as saying.
These ambitions are in line with efforts that are already underway to make Singapore an LNG hub, supported by players such as Pavilion and SLNG.™
Other initiatives to minimise emissions from the LNG industry include designing liquefaction terminals that run on electric power.
Shell delivered the first carbon-neutral cargoes last year.
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