Decarbonising LNG supply: What can be done?

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One of the most noticeable developments in the LNG world over the last two years has been the increasing focus on the sector’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While cargoes of ‘green’ or ‘carbon neutral’ LNG, where emissions have been offset, have caught the headlines, the number of such cargoes has, in reality, been very small.

Perhaps of more significance has been a series of announcements that indicate the serious attention that is being given to investigating the deployment of engineering solutions to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the production and transportation of LNG. This represents a recognition by LNG suppliers that, while there may be strong growth prospects in store for LNG as a lower emission replacement for coal, the emissions created in the production of LNG are something of an Achilles heel.

But while technical solutions may exist which could substantially reduce, if not quite eliminate, the GHG emissions of the LNG supply chain, will such solutions actually be deployed in the absence of any carbon price or other economic incentive? LNG Business Review examines the options available for reducing the GHG emissions of the LNG sector and the prospects for their deployment.