Natural Gas
Why is natural gas important?
Natural gas accounts for about a quarter of global electricity generation. It is easily stored and can be delivered through pipelines or liquefied and sent by ship. Gas-fired power plants can turn on and off quickly. Gas is thus a convenient way to respond to both seasonal and short-term demand fluctuations.
What is the role of natural gas in clean energy transitions?
Natural gas, which emits less carbon than most other fossil fuels, has a limited role as a transition fuel from coal to renewable energy sources. Additionally, natural gas power generation may still be needed as back-up for variable wind and solar power.
Why does natural gas matter to energy security?
Natural gas has traditionally been delivered by pipeline, but disruptions to Europe’s supply caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have spurred massive investments in liquified natural gas terminals that will eventually allow gas to be traded much the way oil is.
Tracking Natural Gas-fired Electricity
-fired electricity generation in 2022 remained relatively unchanged compared to the previous year, keeping CO2 emissions from gas-fired plants around their 2021 levels. In the European Union, countries continued their push to reduce reliance on Russian gas and kept gas-fired generation constant despite low output from hydro and nuclear power. Globally, generation declines in Asia were offset by increases in the United States, Eurasia and the Middle East. In the past couple of years there has been an increasing number of project announcements to install CO2 capture at gas-fired plants, but more efforts to reduce emissions from gas-fired power plants are needed to get on track with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.
Announcements on carbon capture for natural gas plants, and on addressing methane emissions, signal progress in different countries
Announcements on carbon capture for natural gas plants, and on addressing methane emissions, signal progress in different countries
Countries and regions making notable progress to advance this technology include:
- The United States, where six projects were announced to equip natural gas-fired power plants with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
- The United Kingdom, where Net Zero Teesside Power, expected to come online in 2027, could be one of the first commercial scale gas-fired power stations with CCUS. A UK government announcement in March 2023 confirmed that the project is now proceeding to investment negotiations.
- On addressing methane emissions from natural gas, Nigeria became the first African country and Colombia the first South American country to regulate methane emissions from their oil and gas sectors.
Emissions from gas-fired power plants levelled off
Emissions from gas-fired power plants levelled off
In 2022 CO2 emissions from gas-fired power plants largely stayed at their 2021 levels. High gas prices led to gas-to-coal switching in many regions. Decreases in emissions from gas-fired power in Asia Pacific and other regions were offset by emission increases in the United States, Eurasia and the Middle East.
To get on track with the Net Zero Scenario, emissions from unabated gas-fired plants must fall by about 2% on average annually through to 2030. In addition to a gradual reduction in gas-fired generation, this can be accomplished through a combination of applying CCUS, increasing plant efficiencies and co-firing hydrogen-based fuels.
Global gas-fired generation saw few changes as declines from high prices were offset by increased output
Global gas-fired generation saw few changes as declines from high prices were offset by increased output
In 2022 gas-fired generation remained relatively unchanged compared to 2021, representing more than 20% of global electricity generation. Declines in some countries (such as China and India, among others) were largely offset by a rise in gas-fired generation in the United States, Eurasia and the Middle East. For example, gas-fired output last year fell by around 35% in India and by more than 10% in China. However, in the United States, gas-fired generation grew by around 7% in 2022, reversing a 3% decline in the previous year. Generation from gas plants also increased in Eurasia (up 3% compared to around 8% the previous year) and the Middle East (up more than 1% compared to around 4% the previous year).
In the European Union, the supply shock from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove up natural gas prices on European hubs to record levels. Month-ahead prices on TTF – Europe’s leading gas hub – averaged more than EUR 130/MWh in the first 11 months of 2022, more than 7 times as high as the average between 2016 and 2020. Despite these high prices and reduced nuclear power and low hydro output, gas-fired output remained relatively unchanged in the European Union compared to 2021.
In the Net Zero Scenario, unabated gas-fired generation declines by an average of around 2% per year by 2030.
Unabated gas-fired generation in the Net Zero Scenario, 2015-2030
OpenEurope continues push to ease strains on gas markets and reduce reliance on Russia
Europe continues push to ease strains on gas markets and reduce reliance on Russia
Alongside the broader structural changes targeted by the Fit for 55 package and the REPowerEU plan, there have been additional policy initiatives to increase the resilience of European gas markets, strengthen solidarity and limit excessive price spikes. For example, in July 2022 the European Commission adopted the European Gas Demand Reduction Plan to provide best practices and guidance on reducing regional demand for gas. This includes switching away from gas use in industry, power and heat sectors towards renewables and cleaner energy sources.
Thanks to ongoing policy support for renewables, around 50 GW of wind and solar was installed in the European Union in 2022, a record high. These additions avoided the need for around 11 billion cubic metres (bcm) (nearly 400 GJ) of natural gas use in the power sector – the single largest structural driver of reduced natural gas demand in that region.
Carbon capture deployment lags for natural gas plants but new announcements show promise
Carbon capture deployment lags for natural gas plants but new announcements show promise
Unlike certain industrial applications with relatively concentrated CO2 streams, such as natural gas processing, deployment of CCUS at gas-fired power plants has lagged. As the world moves toward a net zero future, CCUS-equipped gas-fired plants can help meet the growing need for system flexibility and provide important system balancing services as the share of variable renewable electricity in the generation mix increases.
Since January 2022 around 15 CCUS projects at gas-fired power plants were announced. In total nearly 50 Mt CO2 of capture capacity at gas-fired power plants is in the project pipeline, primarily in the United States and United Kingdom.
To get on track with the Net Zero Scenario around 230 Mt CO2 must be captured from the power sector by 2030 – up from just under 2 Mt CO2 today.
Around 150 countries have now joined a pledge to tackle methane emissions
Around 150 countries have now joined a pledge to tackle methane emissions
In 2022 natural gas accounted for just under 30% (around 35 Mt) of global methane emissions from the energy sector.
Launched at COP26 in November 2021, the Global Methane Pledge aims to catalyse action to reduce methane emissions. Led by the United States and European Union, the pledge now has around 150 country participants who have collectively agreed to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. Several countries have also released or are working on national methane action plans to support this. Many of them published landmark policies and actions on methane in 2022, including Nigeria, Colombia and the United States. Canada and the European Union are expected to issue new methane regulations in 2023.
We would like to thank the following reviewer:
We would like to thank the following reviewer:
- Eren Cam, IEA
Recommendations
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Governments should consider complementary policies to support CCUS deployment at gas-fired power plants, such as:
- Carbon pricing programmes and emission reduction regulations to incentivise investment in low-emission generation sources.
- Capital grants to projects to reduce high upfront costs.
- Feed-in tariffs and contracts for difference for CCUS-equipped gas-fired plants to provide operators with greater revenue stability and certainty.
- Other policy incentives, such as tax credits and public procurement requirements.
Simultaneous support for CO2 transport and storage infrastructure is also vital, and governments can play a key role in identifying and funding strategic CO2 transport networks and storage sites.
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European and global natural gas markets are not yet out of the danger created by Russia’s cuts to pipeline deliveries of gas. If pipeline imports to the European Union from Russia drop to zero in 2023 and Chinese liquified natural gas (LNG) demand rebounds to 2021 levels, then the European Union could face a serious supply-demand gap opening up in 2023 and going through Q1 and Q2 of 2024.
Of the overall supply-demand gap of 57 bcm that could arise in 2023, around 30 bcm is covered by actions that are already visibly in motion. Closing the remaining deficit of 27 bcm requires a suite of additional near-term policy actions:
- Incentivise faster improvements in energy efficiency.
- Allow for more rapid deployment of renewables.
- Accelerate the electrification of heat.
- Encourage behaviour changes among consumers.
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Around 140 bcm of natural gas was flared in 2022, resulting in around 500 Mt CO2 equivalent GHG emissions (which includes CO2 and methane emissions). In the Net Zero Scenario, all non-emergency flaring is eliminated globally by 2030, resulting in a 95% reduction in flared volumes, avoiding 365 Mt CO2-eq.
There are many options to use natural gas that is currently flared, including by delivering it to consumers via a new or existing gas network, re-injecting it to support reservoir pressure, and converting it to compressed natural gas or LNG. The gas can also be used to generate power, which could be equipped with CCUS.
For other recommendations on reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations see Methane Abatement.
Outlooks for gas markets and investment
In the midst of a global energy crisis, fundamental questions are now being asked about natural gas: how can supply be assured, now and in the future, and at what price? This paper explores the uncertainty around natural gas using insights from the scenarios underpinning the World Energy Outlook 2022, as well as a selection of other global scenario-based assessments.
Authors and contributors
Lead authors
Carl Greenfield