Study Group 3: Life Cycle Analysis study of the Natural Gas Chain

LEADER: Anne-Prieur-Vernat, GDF-SUEZ (France)

SCOPE & PURPOSES

The superior environmental quality of natural gas combustion is undisputed due to its chemical composition but some have alleged that it is not so environmentally benign due to substantial leaks upstream and in the supply chain of methane, which has a high global warming potential. 

Several LCA studies were published by academic or consulting bodies but no homogeneous work was published by the gas industry and increasing number of stakeholders expect to gas industry to conduct LCA studies to show its environmental competitiveness.

Based on IGU study performed in 2006 by CE Delft, and Marcogaz study of the European natural gas chain, using ISO standards, this study group sets up an international databases for LCA of the natural gas chain within IGU and conducts multi-criteria assessment on Global Warming, Non renewable energy depletion, Impacts linked to atmospheric pollution, and Water Footprint. (Collaborate with PGCD on “LNG/LCA” and WOC3 on transmission issues.)

This will help the gas industry for continuous improvement of the environmental performance while providing environmental data to influence the choice of energy by final customer, advocating for the development of natural gas as a practical solution for sustainable development.