Global power demand is expected to continue to rise and natural gas and LNG hold potential to aid in the provision of energy supply security while simultaneously working toward decarbonization targets.
That optimistic outlook is particularly fitting for US LNG, said Cynthia Hansen, executive vice-president and president, gas transmission and midstream, Enbridge Inc., on a panel at Gastech in Houston, Tex., Sept. 18.
According to Shell's LNG Outlook 2024, demand for LNG is expected to rise to as much as 685 million tonnes/year by 2040, and natural gas and LNG could aid utilities worldwide in creating reliable, low carbon, affordable, and diversified energy portfolios better able to withstand certain volatility.
Hansen pointed to the abundant supply of natural gas in the US, as well as the country's safety and environmental standards. The country has benefited since the push in the 90s to switch from coal to natural gas. Roughly 40% of power generation in the US comes from natural gas, she said, and the US is "well positioned to help allies on that journey to reduce overall carbon footprint" with US LNG exports.
Challenges, optimism
Hansen pointed to challenges in current US energy policy affecting natural gas and LNG infrastructure, as well as decarbonization, but Hansen remains optimistic.
"In the northeast we still have a real disconnect. We have [natural gas] supply in Appalachia but don’t have access to infrastructure. That's a concern," she said, noting the continued burning of fuel oil in the northeast US.
On the path to decarbonization, natural gas should be used to support energy transition, making sure that transition is affordable, she continued.
Infrastructure constraints and the need for power converge with the current push to electrify more things in the US, Hansen said. More and more there are conversations to support data center AI buildout, but "we're not in that place yet in the US. As we look to electrify more things we'll have to invest."
Energy equals economic growth, she said, and the sector would benefit from more regulatory certainty. More assurance is needed "to invest in large LNG projects at a more reliable pace," she said, highlighting the importance of existing US LNG plants and the country's ability to export LNG to support allies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
"We continue to work the [regulatory] path," Hansen said. "We will figure it out. We will find that path, because it's the right thing to do."
