600 times less space

To liquefy it, the natural gas is cooled after its extraction by a refrigeration cycle which transforms it into a liquid state at -162°C.

In this form, it takes up much less space (600 times less than in the gaseous state) and can therefore be stored on board LNG carriers to be transported to the other side of the world if necessary.

On arrival, it is regasified to be injected into the national gas transport network or it can be transported by tank truck to industrial sites.

A flexible solution

Unlike gas transported by pipeline – a large fixed infrastructure – LNG allows great transport flexibility and supply from any producing country.

The sources are diverse: the three major exporters are Australia, Qatar and the United States.

In total, some twenty countries with very varied profiles export LNG, from Papua New Guinea to Trinidad and Tobago via... Russia.

Liquefied natural gas tanks on the Isle of Grain, south-east England, September 21, 2021 Daniel LEAL AFP/Archives

LNG trade grew 6% last year, driven by rising demand in China and South Korea, according to the Shell LNG Outlook report.

Global demand should continue to grow, driven in particular by Asia.

More LNG for Europe?

"The EU could theoretically increase its imports of LNG in the short term by some 60 billion cubic meters", estimates the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its plan to reduce dependence on Russian gas.

The European Commission, for its part, mentions a potential of 50 billion m3.

Problem: All importers in the world are fighting for the same shipments, with limited global production and the risk of sharp price increases.

“LNG is a very important flexibility lever”, but “unfortunately in the short term, we cannot ask it to work miracles”, tempers Vincent Demoury, general delegate of the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL).

“It is estimated that this year, at most, there will be an additional 35 billion m3 put on the market worldwide; it is possible that China will capture around half of this, which leaves less than 20 billion m3 in the world. European market", he calculates.

New infrastructure

Some European countries like Poland or Lithuania have built LNG terminals to reduce their dependence on Russia.

But others like Germany have none so far – a situation the country wants to remedy, however.

However, the construction of a terminal takes time: 2 to 3 years.

Another possibility: use floating terminals (FSRUs in English), which can be put into service more quickly, but still require “12 to 18 months”, indicates Mr. Demoury.

Beyond the terminals, it is then the transport by gas pipeline within the European continent which blocks, for lack of interconnections in certain places.

For example, Spain has several LNG terminals, but capacities are then limited to circulate the gas beyond the Pyrenees to the rest of the continent.

A contested environmental record

The LNG sector gladly highlights its advantages for the climate and air pollution: gas advantageously replaces coal to produce electricity or heavy fuel oil for the propulsion of ships, according to its promoters.

But "replacing one fossil fuel and a Russian dependency with another would prove to be a dead end for Europe in the medium term", criticizes the Climate Action Network, in reaction to the European summit in Versailles.

“LNG has very significant climate impacts, because it is very energy-intensive, because by opening world markets it is always pushing production further upstream, and because its value chain creates methane leaks”, very harmful for the climate, deplores Lorette Philippot, Friends of the Earth.

© 2022 AFP