From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   The Globe and Mail - September 25, 2014   
   The ABC's of LNG: A closer look at liquefied natural gas   
      
   As the global energy landscape shifts, this supercooled gas with large   
   deposits in Canada is gaining importance   
      
   WHAT IS LNG?   
      
   Liquefied natural gas is an increasingly important pillar of the global energy   
   industry.   
      
   Long used to heat homes and power industry, natural gas is traditionally   
   extracted from the ground and shipped through pipelines.   
      
   But in recent decades, some of the world's largest energy companies started   
   shipping gas between continents by feeding those pipelines into enormous   
   export terminals.  There, the natural gas is run through a production "train"   
   that supercools the gas    
   into a liquid one-600th the size of its gaseous volume - essentially, from a   
   beach ball of gas to a Ping-Pong ball of liquid.   
      
   It then becomes economical to ship that liquefied gas on specially built   
   transport ships with huge domed tanks to energy-hungry countries willing to   
   pay top dollar.   
      
   It is generally considered a cheaper, greener form of energy than oil. Global   
   demand for LNG is predicted to nearly double between 2012 and 2030, Ernst &   
   Young says.   
      
   WHO ARE THE PLAYERS?   
      
   Because of the huge cost of building facilities, LNG projects are usually the   
   result of negotiations between oil and gas suppliers operating in   
   resource-rich countries with sparse populations (such as Australia) and large   
   purchasers in densely populated,    
   relatively resource-poor countries (such as Japan).   
      
   In the Persian Gulf, Qatargas has helped Qatar become the world's largest LNG   
   exporter, while Malaysia's Petronas has propelled the Southeast Asian state to   
   No. 2 globally.   
      
   In Australia, the No. 3 global producer, firms such as Shell, ExxonMobil,   
   Woodside, Santos, ConocoPhillips and others have signed contracts with energy   
   companies in Asia: Japanese firms such as Kansai Electric and Tokyo Gas and   
   large Chinese energy firms    
   such as China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and China Petroleum &   
   Chemical Corp. (Sinopec).   
      
   WHAT IS HAPPENING GLOBALLY?   
      
   Current demand for liquefied gas is coming mainly from industrialized Asia:   
   Japan, South Korea and Taiwan alone account for more than half of global   
   demand, according to Ernst & Young. In Japan, in particular, opposition to   
   nuclear power in the wake of    
   the Fukushima disaster has spurred demand. But China's interest in natural gas   
   is also increasing because of efforts by the state to move its energy supply   
   away from an overwhelming reliance on coal.   
      
   Australia, already an LNG powerhouse with multiple export terminals, is   
   building out even more. But the biggest development is in the United States,   
   where shale gas is reshaping the global energy industry. Because of the vast   
   U.S. reserves, existing    
   local expertise, and U.S. import facilities that can be turned into export   
   hubs faster than new export facilities can be built in Canada or Australia,   
   producers in the U.S. have a huge advantage over projects being built   
   elsewhere.   
      
   WHAT IS HAPPENING IN B.C.?   
      
   In British Columbia, Premier Christy Clark's government has staked its   
   reputation on the development of multiple LNG proposals up the province's   
   rugged coastline, hoping for an economic boom that can create jobs and pay   
   down the provincial deficit.   
      
   But none of the companies involved have yet made a "final investment decision"   
   and committed to building. And the CEO of Petronas, one of the largest and   
   most credible potential investors for B.C.'s nascent LNG sector, has just   
   voiced uncertainty about    
   the roughly $10-billion project in the wake of U.S. developments and the B.C.   
   government's proposed tax regime.   
      
   For roughly two years, the B.C. government has mulled the tax framework under   
   which the producers will operate. But in addition to that, the potential   
   projects have faced intense opposition from local environmental and aboriginal   
   groups who think tankers    
   off their pristine coast will lead to an ecological disaster. For now, the   
   industry remains largely theoretical.   
      
   WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?   
      
   But as Canadian projects stall, the global energy landscape is shifting - and   
   not in a way that benefits hopeful producers in Canada. Australian producers   
   are ramping up production and new projects are developing in East Africa. And   
   while Asian demand is    
   increasing, the largest buyers are beginning to play coy with negotiations   
   because of U.S. developments, which could cause prices to drop.   
      
   Geoffrey Cann, a Deloitte consultant based in Brisbane, says cheap gas in the   
   U.S. will cause Asian purchasers to wait longer before signing contracts, sign   
   much shorter supply contracts and sign contracts for lower volumes. This is a   
   challenge for new    
   greenfield projects in Canada, which face steeper costs than brownfield sites   
   that can expand capacity by adding new "trains" to existing facilities.   
      
   "It does seem to be taking a devilishly long time," Mr. Cann said. "The march   
   on the next round of contracts is going to elude the Canadians."   
   __________________________________________________   
      
   How clean is liquefied natural gas? - David Suzuki Foundation   
   http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/panther-lounge/2012/06/how-clea   
   -is-liquefied-natural-gas/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)