EIA estimates that between 2014 and 2017 natural gas processing capacity and processing throughput increased by around 5%, even as the number of individual plants reduced. Natural gas processing plant utilization rates stayed still at 66% from 2014 to 2017, but numerous states saw significant changes, largely reflecting changes in natural gas production across regions.
In its Energy Outlook for 2019, BP reports that the transport sector will continue to be dominated by oil, despite the increasing penetration of alternative fuels, and particularly electricity and natural gas. Oil used in transport will rise by 4 Mb/d (220 Mtoe), with most of that demand deriving from increased use in aviation and marine, rather than road transportation.
Germany’s gas imports decreased by 9% in November 2018 in comparison to the same month in 2017, according to Reuters. Yet, imports during the first 11 months, from January to November, experienced an increase of 9% than the same period , a year earlier.
IRENA, the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency, launched ‘A new World’ report, according to which, the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation supports that the geopolitical and socio-economic consequences of a new energy age may be as profound as those which accompanied the alter from biomass to fossil fuels two centuries ago. These include changes in the position of states, the importance of new leaders, more energy actors, alter in trade relations and the emergence of new alliances.
According to EIA, 23.7 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity additions and 8.3 GW of capacity retirements are expected for the U.S. electric power sector in 2019. The additions are embodied by wind (46%), natural gas (34%), and solar photovoltaics (18%), with the remaining 2% consisting primarily of other renewables and battery storage capacity.
The number of U.S. liquefied natural gas vessels that went to China in 2018 fell by around 20% from the prior year as the trade war between Beijing and Washington heated up. Yet, the trade war has been lessen because of talks between China and US, looking for a common ground, increasing the possibility of additional tariffs to be avoided, according to Reuters.
According to EIA, during 2018 the annual Henry Hub natural gas spot price increased to $3.16 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), up 15 cents from the 2017 average. The prices were risen gradually, with important increases on October and November, before experiencing a decrease in December.
According to EIA’s recent report ‘Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves’, there is a continuous rise on shale and tight resources that drove proved reserves of both U.S. crude oil and natural gas to new records in 2017. Reserves of U.S. crude oil increased 19.5% in comparison to 2016, whereas reserves of natural gas increased by 36.1% from the end of 2016.
Spanish LNG company HAM Group, in cooperation with the Port of Barcelona and Portuguese energy firm Galp opened the first LNG fueling station within the port, to reduce emissions from port activities. The facility has two compressed natural gas pumps for trucks and vehicles, two liquefied natural gas pumps for trucks and a cryogenic LNG tank of 60 cubic meters capacity.
According to a new report by the NGO Transport & Environment, using natural gas for transport is as bad for the climate as using petrol, diesel or conventional marine fuels. The report considers the effects of leakage of methane, saying that fossil gas could increase GHG emissions by up to 9% or decrease them by a maximum of 12%
