Australian firms to produce LNG with renewable electricity

They seek to produce LNG using renewable electricity to lower its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its lifecycle.

PHOTO: Aerial view of Port Hedland in Western Australia. Oceania Marine

Australian renewable energy firm Pilbara Clean Fuels (PCF) and marine firm Oceania Marine Energy will build an LNG plant in Port Hedland, with the goal of meeting LNG export cargo and bunker demand in Australia.

Natural gas that is piped into the upcoming plant will be converted into LNG through a conventional process. However, the plant will run entirely on electricity produced using renewable sources of energy.

Oceania Marine Energy claims the LNG produced will have lower GHG lifecycle emissions than conventional LNG made using non-renewable electricity. LNG will be later supplied to vessels anchored at Port Hedland through ship-to-ship operations.  

The plant will have the capacity to produce 500,000 mt/year of LNG, with potential to expand this capacity further to 1 million mt/year.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a GHG compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

By Nithin Chandran

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