The global oil and gas industry is leading the way with new technologies to use natural gas to help reduce emissions and support the global shift to cleaner energy.
Natural gas is already playing an essential role in reducing emissions, providing a stable baseload energy as Australia and the rest of the world transition to renewable energy.
“Locally, natural gas is a cleaner fuel and can see the emissions intensity of electricity generation fall, particularly on the east coast.
Gas-fired generators can be rapidly started, making them complementary with intermittent renewable energy,” APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said.
“Alongside the opportunity at home, exporting natural gas as LNG will allow our Asian trading partners to reduce the emissions from their economies.
“Government statistics already tell us that Australia’s LNG exports have the potential to reduce emissions in importing nations by up to 164 million tonnes each year through the displacement of coal consumption.”
APPEA’s new report, Industry Action on Emissions Reduction, outlines the initiatives and activities being undertaken by the industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, encompassing the entire oil and gas exploration and production lifecycle.
There is even more work being undertaken by the industry to further develop new technologies such as carbon capture and storage and investments in hydrogen.
“A focus on innovation and technology, including carbon capture and storage and hydrogen as technologies, can achieve large-scale abatement and provide a large-scale economic opportunity for Australia,” Mr McConville said.
The ability to embrace new technologies in the industry will also provide economic opportunities. “Reducing global emissions, using natural gas to enable renewables and sustaining and growing a strong export industry are all vital to Australia’s economic future, especially in these tough economic times.”
In July, the International Gas Union’s (IGU) Gas Technology and Innovation for a Sustainable Future report showed that utilising natural gas technologies – including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and renewable gas – to their full economic potential could deliver a reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions of up to 12 gigatonnes (GT) by 2040.
This is the equivalent to nearly a third of global energy sector emissions in 2019.
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