As the cleanest fossil fuel, natural gas has become a bridge between the dirty, polluting, non-renewable energy sources of the past and a green, clean, renewable-based future. Even though many do not see it as a long-term solution, there are signs that the market is willing to maintain current positive sentiment.
The natural gas market has become global thanks to the surprisingly fast development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology. LNG deliveries from Sabine Pass to Central Europe have had a positive impact on markets that were previously constrained by pipelines, and have shifted dominance away from Russia. Moscow realized early enough that LNG is a necessity in the current market. In December 2017, Novatek successfully completed the first phase of Yamal LNG, the biggest LNG production plant in Siberia. According to Reuters, over 95% of the output from this Russian terminal has been already sold to Asia-Pacific region on the basis of long-term contracts. The LNG industry has flourished mostly due to its increasing attractiveness among Asian recipients, especially as an alternative fuel in times of nuclear power plants outages and policies restricting coal. The gasification program in Chinese Shandong province, treated as the remedy for coal-fired plant pollution, is aimed to introduce gas heating technology in millions of households. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Report, until 2030 over 70% of global LNG will be imported by Asian recipients. From 2025 combined China, India, and Southeast Asia LNG demand will outpace the current major importers, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
In response, energy giants have heavily invested in LNG production infrastructure to meet the increasing demand. Six out of seven BP (NYSE: BP) major projects of 2017 were natural gas projects. The rationale behind this strategic shift to natural gas is the comparative abundance of the fuel, making it a competitive energy resource and lower-carbon emission of gas plants, which is in line with the clean energy revolution. Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) constantly expands its presence on LNG market. Its flagship project, Prelude FLNG, has just recently arrived at its destination near Broome, Western Australia, completing the first phase of the project. According to the press note, this venture marks a new era for the LNG industry. Prelude FLNG is the world's largest floating structure ever built and its annual production can cover 117% of Hong Kong's natural gas demand.
It seems that energy market players believe that the long-term goal of using mostly renewable resources can be reached with a little help from natural gas over the medium term. We should expect more infrastructure projects, especially in the LNG industry, which in many countries guarantees an increase of supply independence, reduction of pollution or cheaper energy source. In the big picture, natural gas can be described as a solid second choice: for now to coal and nuclear power, which still dominate the energy scene, but in coming years to renewable options.