Industry-academia study measures LNG carrier emissions
A joint industry-academia research group said May 27 it had completed a first-of-its-kind study to directly measure the methane emissions of a LNG carrier on a round trip from the US Gulf Coast to Europe.
The research, conducted by Queen Mary University London with support from the Collaboratory to Advance Methane Science (CAMS) and Spanish transmission system operator Enagas, will provide critical insights in the greenhouse gas (GHG) profile of LNG carriers to identify opportunities for environmental performance improvement.
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Direct measurements of engine exhaust and fugitive emissions were collected on-board the Cheniere Energy-chartered carrier GasLog Galveston (banner image) during a round-trip voyage from Cheniere’s Corpus Christi liquefaction facility in Texas to a discharge port in Europe. The results are expected to be released soon in a peer-reviewed journal.
“This project comes at a critical time, with policymakers seeking to understand both how to regulate industry and ensure that climate targets are met,” said Dr Paul Balcombe, lecturer in chemical engineering and renewable energy at Queen Mary University and the lead researcher for the study. “Accomplishing this will depend on ensuring transparent, emissions-related data is available and lessons learned from studies such as this are implemented.”
Both industry and CAMS, a research initiative administered by GTI, believe the transportation of LNG is an area ripe for real progress on first measuring, then reducing, methane emissions, Cheniere CCO Anatol Feygin said.
“This important work is consistent with our commitment to enhance the transparency around the emissions profile of the LNG value chain and robust scientific results are important data points to guide future mitigation strategies.”