International
Made in Canada’ LNG: Helping to reduce worldwide pollution
Canada has the potential to help the worst polluters in the world get off coal with its abundant supply of natural gas.
The country’s unofficial unique brand of producing the most responsible and ethical natural gas in the world could propel Canada into the role as a significant global player in the race to mitigate greenhouse gases.
“LNG can have the greatest impact and greatest contribution to resolving the climate change problem and that should really be Canada’s main contribution because it can offset effectively higher intensity fuels,” says Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC) industry group.
“The brand is there. The only issue that I am worried about on the branding is it still has to be competitive. Nobody is going to buy our product if it is more expensive because of regulatory burden or uncertainty in getting it to a coast where you can export whether that coast is the East or West Coast.”
Often praised as the clean energy source of the future, natural gas or super-cooled LNG could be the answer to reducing global emissions while displacing sources with higher carbon intensity.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the demand for natural gas to reach just over 4,100 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2023, up from 3,740 bcm in 2017. With its population growth and long-term strategy to green its energy sources, China is expected to make up 40 per cent of the growth. China’s LNG imports continue to beat records.
“Natural gas is not the bridge fuel; it is the fuel,” the Chinese government has said.
Gary Mar, Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) president, says: “if we could move natural gas to China we would do more to reducing the GHG emissions in the global atmosphere than if we shut down all the automobiles in Canada.”
Late last year, LNG Canada along with its partners Royal Dutch Shell plc, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation signed off on building an export facility in Kitimat, B.C. The $40-billion price tag makes the project the largest energy investment in Canadian history.
Many see the investment as a much-needed boost to the battered oil and gas sector, representing opportunities to solidify Canada’s brand as a world leader in delivering natural gas and reaching new markets.
https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2019/6/made-canada-natural-gas-helping-reduce-worldwide-pollution/