BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 25. It is expected that the existing natural gas infrastructure will be repurposed to also be used for low carbon gases in the future, and as such, any new investments in gas infrastructure should be designed with this in mind, Trend reports with reference to the Global Gas Report 2022 (GGR) released by the International Gas Union (IGU), Snam and Rystad Energy.
“One key aspect of supply diversification is the ability to switch between different supply sources. LNG brings a unique flexibility advantage in that its supply chain can be reconfigured in response to changes in resource availability and unplanned external risk factors (e.g. geopolitical events, extreme weather). As such, it can mitigate the risk of gas delivery infrastructure being stranded,” reads the report.
IGU notes that both Europe and Asia have increased their share of LNG in the import mix over the last decade, with the trend being most noticeable in Europe.
“Similar considerations must be made when designing the infrastructure network for gas transportation. The infrastructure will stay in place for decades, so it must be flexible enough to accommodate changes in supply, demand patterns and the transition to more low carbon gases. Additional investments must be made to expand the existing transportation network and make a diversified network that’s not relying on a single source exporter. The European lesson is anyhow showing the important benefits of an integrated regional system, which could also be beneficial to other regions in order to both maximize security and create flexibility in domestic systems,” the report says.
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