Cheniere’s LNG emissions footprint lower than thought, report shows

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter Cheniere Energy has published an updated life cycle assessment (LCA) study for the intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by its exported natural gas according to which their levels are lower than formerly assumed.

Like its predecessor from 2021, the new study ‘Gas Pathing: Improved Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimates of Liquefied Natural Gas Exports through Enhanced Supply Chain Resolution’ has been published in the American Chemical Society’s Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Journal.

The updated study deploys an algorithm aligned with how gas is purchased, sold, and transported within the U.S., from production to transmission to the company’s Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi liquefaction facilities in the Gulf Coast region. The U.S. player believes the analysis enhances the understanding of supply chain emissions and improves the quality of estimated GHG emissions levels for its LNG.

“This study reinforces the environmental competitiveness of Cheniere’s LNG, while demonstrating the value of direct emissions measurement to better understand the environmental footprint of LNG and identify areas for improvement,” said Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are charting a path forward with concrete data, science and actions to ensure LNG and natural gas continue to play a role in the global transition to a lower-carbon future for decades to come.”

The report states that the 2022 GHG emissions intensity of Cheniere’s delivered LNG is lower than the intensity included in a 2019 study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). After incorporating new data, it was found that the emission intensity of Cheniere’s gas used for power generation in importing countries is 20–28% lower than the NETL study.

The updated study is co-authored by experts from the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, Queen Mary University of London’s School of Engineering and Materials Science, Colorado School of Mines’ Payne Institute for Public Policy, Rystad Energy, KeyLogic Systems, and Cheniere.

The U.S. player continues supplying European countries with its LNG. Portugal’s Galp recently inked a deal to buy approximately 0.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG from Cheniere for 20 years. Deliveries are scheduled to start in the early 2030s.

The access to more LNG is conditional upon, among other things, a positive final investment decision (FID) for the second train of the Sabine Pass Liquefaction (SPL) expansion project, called train eight, which is currently under development. 

Sabine Pass currently has six fully operational trains, each capable of producing approximately 5 mtpa of LNG, for a total of 30 mtpa, while the expansion project is being developed for up to 20 mtpa.