Cleaner burn: LNG producers make case for energy transition role

August 9, 2021

Congressman Peters’ FAIR Transition and Competition Act will ensure the U.S. leads the global economy and the fight against climate change by establishing a carbon tax that holds polluters accountable, at home and abroad.

Learn why we must move toward a clean energy future in this July 30th piece by Houston Chronicle, posted below:

Cleaner burn: LNG producers make case for energy transition role

July 30th, 2021

While liquified natural gas’ reputation has been sullied because of flaring in the Permian Basin and methane leaks into the environment, global demand for the super-chilled fuel shows it can still play a role in the transition to a cleaner energy future.

LNG produces about half the carbon dioxide emissions of black coal when burned to generate electricity, and demand for the cleaner-burning fuel has been on the rise.

“The use of natural gas in the power sector has helped the U.S. reduce its greenhouse gas emissions,” Kinder Morgan CEO Steven Kean said. “That’s a largely result of natural gas replacing coal in the power grid.”

U.S. liquefied natural gas exports grew to record highs in the first half of 2021, according to the Energy Department, averaging 9.6 billion cubic feet per day, a 242 percent increase compared to an average of 2.8 billion cubic feet per day in the same period of 2020, according to the Energy Information Agency.

A number of factors contributed to rising global demand, including the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and unplanned outages at export facilities in several countries, including Australia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Algeria and Norway.

Also feeding the increase was new export capacity. Last year saw the final liquefaction units commissioned by Houston-based companies, including Freeport LNG’s facility on Quintana Island near Freeport; Cameron LNG’s project in Hackberry, La.; and Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi LNG. Other small-scale units were placed in service at Elba Island LNG, a joint venture between Kinder Morgan and EIG Global Energy Partners.

The increase comes as producers make the case that LNG is a viable transition fuel, in part by seeking to lower their carbon footprint. Venture Global, a Virginia-based company, in May said it is investing in carbon capture and storage at the liquefied natural gas facilities Calcasieu Pass in Cameron Parish, La., and Plaquemines in Plaquemines Parish, La. Both plants are under development.

That carbon sequestration project would store in underground saline aquifers the ground carbon dioxide that would otherwise flow to the surface, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Union, along with several Asian, African and Latin American countries have imposed a carbon tax to further encourage emissions reductions, and the U.S. is considering joining them.

Sen Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, and Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat from California, last month introduced legislation establishing a carbon tariff on certain imports including steel, natural gas, petroleum and coal. The move came a week after Europe’s proposal to launch the world’s first carbon border tax. The bill, which would impose a fee on carbon-intensive products from countries with inadequate emissions controls, was framed as a way to level out the costs faced by American companies under state and federal environmental regulations.

“A carbon tax is the best way of doing it. If you have a price on carbon, then you will have the incentive to do the carbon sequestration,” Tellurian’s co-founder and Executive Chairman Charif Souki said.

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