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A cleaner fuel
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is created by cooling natural gas to -161°C, where it liquefies, making it easy to transport and export.
Although natural gas is, like coal and oil, a fossil fuel, it is often included in ‘sustainable’ programs by virtue of its low greenhouse impact. It is clean burning, releasing few pollution particles and no fly ash, and generating 75% less greenhouse gases than coal during electricity generation. Natural gas can also be used to generate electricity and heat concurrently (cogeneration).
Natural Gas - The Source of Japan's Warm Glow
Natural gas – its technical, economic and environmental advantages have made it the world’s fastest growing
energy source. Australian companies are leading the way in the safe and efficient extraction and export of this valuable fuel.
The International Energy Agency predicts that global gas demands may rise 2.5-3.0% each year through 2020. Australia’s rich natural environment is endowed with enormous natural gas resources, with demonstrated reserves of 143 trillion cubic feet – 100 years’ supply at current production rates.
Australian natural gas has powered Japanese industry, cooked family meals and heated homes since 1989. Japan is currently contracted to
purchase about 11m tonnes of LNG each year from the A$12bn North West Shelf Venture (NWS), Australia’s largest natural gas operation.
Kansai Electric, Japan’s second biggest power company, has contracted to buy LNG from North West Shelf for another 20 years following the expiry of the initial contract in 2009. Under the agreement, NWS will supply the company with 500,000 tonnes of LNG a year between 2009 and 2014, and 925,000 tonnes a year between 2015 and 2023. The LNG will be used to
provide electricity to Kansai Electric’s 13m customers.
Energy extraction ventures such as NWS combine commercial muscle and painstaking surveys, but the hard work is facilitated by Australia’s legal and investment framework, which simplifies exploration, research and development.
