Natural Gas – Security, Equity, and Sustainability advantages

In the context of worsening climate change and increasing global warming, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015 determined the Individual Nationally Determined Contributions of each country member of the United Nations organisation to reduce CO2 emissions significantly. Since the countries signed the agreement, the era of oil and coal has an end. To such reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, a combination of new technologies will emerge, in which Natural Gas (NG) leads the market share. The energy trilemma composed of Sustainability, Equity, and Security, requires an equilibrium in which the optimisation of each index is not easy to find. However, natural gas is the cleanest-burning hydrocarbon [1]. It is abundant, versatile, and the technology used for electricity generation is mature. This article states the advantages of natural gas as a primary source of electricity generation, citing the relevant solutions that this fossil-fuel source offers for the typical challenges in the energy sector. Firstly, this paper understands the security index, in which transportation, supply and safety are relevant elements to consider. Secondly, this article also recognises the advantages in terms of fuel cost and electricity cost. Lastly, the CO2 emissions of natural gas in electricity generation are compared to other fuels. The significance of this article resides in identifying the advantages that natural gas has as an energy source. The natural gas advantages apply to any country, regardless of its economic development, especially to those with limited energy resources.

The fuel supply relies on transportation viability, fuel production, and reserves. The natural gas predominant molecule as the carburant component is Methane [2]. Natural gas is mainly found in the earth as an oil-associated fossil fuel. For example, countries such as Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have vast reserves of oil-associated natural gas. However, the largest reserves in a country are dry gas type, in Russia (Figure 1). The dry gas type is naturally enclosed by the earth cortex. A different kind of gas is shale gas, mainly encountered in the United States (US) [2]. The world´s natural gas proved-reserves are equivalent to a rate-to-production of 51 years [3].

As for the transportation, once it is extracted, the natural gas is transported by underground pipelines that are not exposed to storms and other risks on the surface, which makes gas supply very reliable [5]. Furthermore, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), a product-type in which the volume is reduced 600 times, allows the transportation of natural gas from one continent to another, booming trading movements throughout the world.

As for the transportation, once it is extracted, the natural gas is transported by underground pipelines that are not exposed to storms and other risks on the surface, which makes gas supply very reliable [5]. Furthermore, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), a product-type in which the volume is reduced 600 times, allows the transportation of natural gas from one continent to another, booming trading movements throughout the world.

 

Despite the fact that regional supply predominates in the world, LNG is enabling a globalised gas market. The LNG exports and imports are projected to increase the double for 2040. Asian countries are the most benefited from LNG expansion.

On the other hand, LNG is safe, in its liquid state, LNG is not explosive when LNG is heated and become a gas, the gas is not dangerous if it is unconfined. Natural Gas is only flammable within a narrow range of concentration in the air (5% to 15%). Since 1944, there is no record of a significant incident despite LNG demand increasing over the years [7].

Concerning the Equity index of the energy trilemma, the natural gas price is very stable. Historically, only extraordinary events had an impact on the global natural gas world´s prices. The Fukushima accident in 2011 phased out 17 GW of nuclear energy power in Japan and others 8 GW in Germany [8]. Consequently, the natural gas demand dramatically increased because the technology used to replace nuclear energy immediately was Combined Cycle Generation Technology (CCGT), which uses natural gas. Also, the shale gas revolution in 2012 in the US leveraged the natural gas prices worldwide [8]. The most competitive gas market is in the US, with the lowest prices available. Thus, limiting the price because such availability and fuel prices in the US enable competitive exports to any part of the world.

 CCGT is the most popular technology of electricity generation from natural gas sources. The Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of CCGT highly depends on the commodity prices fluctuation; however, the average global price is the most competitive among other fossil-fuels [9].

As for the Sustainability index, the CO2 emissions from the electricity generation from natural gas sources is 40% lower than coal when the electricity is generated by steam generation technologies, and 57% lower when the electricity generation comes from CCGT. By far, natural gas is the cleanest hydrocarbon in the world.

Natural gas has multiple advantages that help economies to diversify their energy mix. The abundance of gas and proved reserves are distributed throughout the world. With a steady price, natural gas as a fuel source can contribute significantly to the economic development of nations that mainly rely on oil as a primary source of energy. Moreover, the infrastructure of LNG facilitates a genuinely competitive market with access in Asia and Oceania. CCGT is a mature technology with excellent operating costs, which allows very convenient electricity generation tariffs. The carbon content and CO2 emissions from electricity generation are far much lower than any other fossil-fuel source. The natural gas advantages are relevant to consider for sustainable energy development. The limitations of this article reside in future assumptions based on scenarios; however, these scenarios are reliable and complex models developed by well-recognised energy agencies. The future of natural gas as the main source of energy is very positive. The installed capacity of CCGT will double for 2040 [11], as well as the imports and exports [3], thus, natural gas will become the main source of energy in the world.

 

 

Rogelio Maier Mosiño

Energy Researcher at Sustainable Energy Network Solutions

 

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