CNG’s competitive advantage

An estimated 110bn cm of gas is flared every year, pumping around 200m t/y of carbon dioxide and 1.5m t/y of methane into the atmosphere. As pressure builds to halt the pollution and waste, the Monetising Stranded Gas Reserves Conference discussed practical and profitable alternatives. Victoria Thomas reports

FLARED GAS represents more than 1% of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions, Robert Bacon, of World Bank Group, told the Monetising Stranded Gas Reserves Conference, in Houston, in December. The most promising alternatives for managing associated gas discussed at the conference were re-injection, undersea pipelines, liquefaction, undersea power transmission, gas conversion and hydrate and compressed natural gas (CNG) ocean-transport technologies. While a number of speakers considered the pros and cons of these technologies in the context of different locations and circumstances, Bacon highlighted the growing international momentum to reduce flaring. In particular, he pointed to the inc