CEDIGAZ Insights - Page 8

How will LNG support Kuwait’s energy transition?

Posted in CEDIGAZ Insights, Country Report, LNG Markets on

Kuwait is mostly known as one of the world’s largest oil producing nations and as a leading member of OPEC. But the country was also a pioneer in 2009 when it became the first in the MENA region to import LNG via a floating storage and regasification unit. At the time, LNG was considered a stop-gap solution to address chronic electricity shortages that threatened Kuwait’s economic and socio-political stability.

Today, Kuwait continues to lead the way in the region by being the first LNG importer to invest in a land-based LNG import terminal. The 22 mtpa facility, for which construction has begun at Al Zour industrial area, is scheduled to come online in 2021. Cedigaz’s latest report examines the risks and opportunities of Kuwait’s LNG strategy.

Ten major trends in the European gas market (Part 2)

Posted in CEDIGAZ Insights, Country Report, Energy Transition, Natural Gas Market on

The EU gas and energy sector is in the midst of a profound transformation driven by decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation. The latest report by Cedigaz analyses in ten key points the evolution of the gas sector and includes forward looking views on new trends in EU gas markets.

6. Role of gas in the energy transition in the medium term: Natural gas is expected to be a key pillar of the EU energy transition. As the cleanest of all fossil fuels, it allows a quick reduction of the power sector’s emissions thanks to coal-to-gas switching. Moreover, thanks to its flexibility, natural gas is an ideal partner to renewables. Gas-fired power plants are well suited to follow rapid swings in power supply of variable renewables. In the transport sector, the cleanliness of natural gas is a key advantage for improving air quality, a major health and economic issue. In maritime transport, new regulations to reduce sulphur emissions from shipping play a key role in the development of LNG as a marine fuel. Natural gas, if it cannot decarbonise the heating sector, can make an effective contribution to reducing emissions from the sector and, in the long term, can be replaced by renewable gas.

UK power supply & CO2 emissions from power plants

Ten major trends in the European gas market (Part 1)

Posted in CEDIGAZ Insights, Country Report, Energy Transition, Natural Gas Market on

The EU gas and energy sector is in the midst of a profound transformation driven by decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation. The latest report by Cedigaz analyses in ten key points the evolution of the gas sector and includes forward looking views on new trends in EU gas markets.

1. Decarbonisation: The EU has a high decarbonisation objective. With the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2016 and the 2030 climate and energy framework, the EU energy mix requires a profound transformation. The legislative process to implement the 2030 goals was initiated with the Energy Union Package in 2015 and subsequently by the Energy Security Package and the Clean Energy Package. Already, Europe’s energy system is moving fast from a fossil-fuelled energy system to a low-carbon, more digital and consumer centric system. In this new context, the role of gas in the clean energy transition needs to be defined.