Canada is capable of producing LNG that has a much lower carbon footprint than quantities purchased from other markets, says a Canadian LNG project developer.

If Canadian LNG had been on the water in 2022 as Russia natural gas supply to Europe slumped, a drastic increase in emissions generated from Asian coal-fired power plants could have been avoided, said Charlotte Raggett, president and CEO of Rockies LNG, as she presented the findings of a paper during the LNG2023 conference on July 11.

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Raggett said 130 GW of electricity were added in Asia as a result of the increase in coal-fired power.

“So that 130 GW represents roughly two times Canada’s total emissions,” she said. “If that had been Canadian LNG, we could have reduced the emissions footprint of that coal-fired power generation by half – 600mn tonnes/year, which is just short of the entire CO2 emissions of Canada.

“So, just to put that in perspective, we could have avoided Canada’s worth of emissions if we had had more LNG on the water.”

Rockies LNG, a group of natural-gas producers, has partnered with Western LNG and the Nisga’a Nation on the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project in northwestern British Columbia. The project is one of many proposed for the northwestern B.C. region, where LNG Canada is also developing the first Canadian terminal slated to begin operations in 2025.

Raggett said LNG reaching Asian markets from Canada would generate much lower emissions than quantities coming from the US. If US LNG added to the market over a three-year period had been produced in Canada, it would have resulted in about 40mn tonnes/year of fewer emissions hitting the atmosphere, she said.

“It’s a real opportunity, I think, to put more Canadian LNG out there, because of carbon performance and the challenges getting it there,” she said.

She noted that LNG developers and natural-gas producers in northwestern B.C. are capitalising on many factors that help reduce emissions, including access to a renewable power grid or, if projects are too far away from it, carbon capture and storage; widespread access to federal and provincial databases covering all emissions; large-diameter pipe and specific emissions-reduction targets.

“All of the tools in the toolbox are being used,” she said.