WE GOT GAS: Natural Gas

There’s a lot of demand for LNG, especially in areas around the globe that do not readily have access to energy. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, there is an estimated demand for Liquified Natural Gas amounting to an estimated 300 year supply in Canada.

Natural Gas could mean securing Canada’s energy supply and providing energy around the globe to much needed areas like Asia and India.

It is believed that we will still have gas and coal left by the time oil runs out in 2052. But if we increase gas production to fill the energy gap left by oil, then those reserves will only give us an additional eight years, taking us to 2060.

So we can say that the smartest thing we can do with oil and gas is use it to bridge us to new energy. Making LNG the priority is simply the best option to persue.

NATURAL GAS IS CLEANER

Natural gas releases up to 50% less CO2 than coal and 20-30% less than oil, when it is burned. So it’s a better fossil fuel than any other. Natural gas offers a significant contribution to improved local air quality and public health overall so it’ makes sense to develop it  as an energy solution.

NATURAL GAS OFFSHORE NEWFOUNDLAND

There are an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of gas potential offshore Newfoundland, and it’s the provincial plan to have natural gas plays moving by 2030.

According to Minister of Natural Resources, Siobhan Coady, “The resource potential in our offshore is incredible. In just 9% of our offshore, we have a combined resource potential of 52.2 Bbbl oil and 199.6 Tcf gas. We have over 650 leads and prospects identified to date, eight new entrants in the past three years, and $4 billion in recent exploration work commitments. We will continue to position our province as an internationally preferred location for oil and gas exploration and development.”

Building on over 20 years of oil production success and an ongoing world-leading seismic program that has been shedding new insights on the nearly two dozen basins that surround the province, offshore Newfoundland and Labrador is poised for an exciting new round of exploration and development.

To date, offshore Newfoundland oil production has been oil, yet gas remains a strong possibility. Oil fields offshore Newfoundland have consistently been one, two, three, four, five, even six times bigger than original estimates. If gas follows suit, we could be in for highly prosperous times.

OPPORTUNE TIMES

Offshore Newfoundland currently has four world-class producing fields and two more about to come on stream. West White Rose and Equinor’s Bay du Nord, deepwater play, are forecasted to be producing wells within the next five years.

With 43 wells approved to drill and over 100 exploratory wells to be drilled over the next decade, things are bound to boom. The development of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s ‘Way Forward’ plan has a strong commitment to natural gas development as a low carbon fuel solution. 

With the discovery of additional resources, market opportunities, and anticipated natural gas, the future looks bright. The provincial commitment is to advance initiatives to ensure industry readiness for gas commercialization, including regulation, development models, local supply opportunities, and labour requirements. As well, the focus of attracting global investment for commercial gas production is a priority.

THE FUTURE LOOKS GOOD

By 2030, the long-term priorities of commercial natural gas production are evident. The province will promote investment in new infrastructure, technology, and leverage expertise to pursue market opportunities for commercial gas production while fostering natural gas resource exploration and development opportunities.

Given that natural gas is a cleaner energy source and the gas offshore Newfoundland is virtually untapped, there are strong reasons to focus on it. Offshore Newfoundland, most of the gas can be conveniently found in less than 200 metres of water. The resource base can support a world-scale project, and theoretically, gas projects could yield 2 million tonnes per year. This offshore gas opportunity could quite easily come together if industry players collaborate, share information, and infrastructure to develop it.

Developing gas resources on the Grand Banks is in the best interest of world energy demand and would make a significant contribution to the fight against climate change. With large gas areas potentially unexplored, definite shipping advantages to Europe, and the world’s demand for cleaner, greener energy, gas is a logical and sustainable solution.  

We got gas! 

Source, Images, Video: Government of Newfoundland & Labrador, Department of Natural resources, CAPP