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Editorial comment

There was a lot to celebrate during the Summer of 2022 here in the UK: England’s lionesses won the Women’s Euros, the Queen marked 70 years on the throne, and the 2022 Commonwealth Games took place in Birmingham where, collectively, the UK accumulated a total of 273 medals.1


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With less cause for celebration, the Summer of 2022 also saw a number of climate disasters. The UK experienced two heatwaves, with temperatures hitting a record-high of 40.3°C, and there was also extreme heat in India and Pakistan earlier this year. In August, severe flooding in Pakistan (following eight weeks of non-stop rain), resulted in over 1000 deaths and millions losing their homes. Bangladesh was also subject to flooding – in June, the worst floods for 100 years hit north-east Bangladesh and parts of India, killing over 100 people and stranding more than 9.5 million people across both countries.2
Ahead of COP27, the climate crisis is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, and this is no different for the LNG industry. With the topic of sustainability and concern over emissions ever present, positive actions are being taken in the fight against climate change, and multiple different approaches are being utilised in the hope of reaching this goal.
For example, as part of the company’s continued commitment to increase climate transparency and data-driven actions that address methane emissions, Cheniere has joined UNEP’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, the United Nations Environment Programme’s flagship oil and gas methane emissions reporting and mitigation initiative.3 Meanwhile, ABS has awarded approval in principle to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd for its hybrid power system to aid large LNG carriers. The system’s configuration includes a battery energy storage and generator within an existing power source that will allow the carriers to access hybrid power when needed most.
Another approach that appears to be picking up speed is the development of bio-LNG, which is derived from renewable sources (such as biogas). This makes it 100% sustainable, and it also has the potential to provide both economic and environmental benefits. For instance, supplementing bio-LNG to existing LNG value chains could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
We have seen a number of news stories emerging on this topic: Wärtsilä has recently been chosen to supply a bio-LNG plant in Latvia, with the plant expected to become fully operational by the end of 2023, and will also supply a biogas upgrading and liquefaction solution for a new biogas plant in Sweden.
In addition, Titan is to build the world’s largest biomethane liquefaction plant in the Port of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to enable supply to ships and trucks. The first liquefied biomethane production is expected in 2025.
Across the globe, CycleØ and HAM Group are to build the first bio-LNG plant in Chile, with a capacity to process between 7500 – 16 500 m3/d of biogas. You can find more on all these stories in the news section, starting on p.5.
It is clear sustainability remains a key topic, and the November issue of LNG Industry qalso includes articles that touch on the importance of improving this across the different sectors of the LNG industry. Starting on p.17, Wilhelmsen’s article considers how higher-durability ropes can lower environmental impact while EonCoat explores how non-toxic coatings for storage assets can aid with the push for sustainability (starting on p.49).

  1. ‘Medal Standings’, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, www.birmingham2022.com/medals
  2. ‘You’re not imagining it – there really were a lot of climate disasters this summer’, Greenpeace, (2022), www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/climate-disasters-summer-2022/
  3. Cheniere Joins UNEP’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0’, Business Wire, (2022), www.businesswire.com/news/ home/20221017006027/en

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