Energy transition
Natural gas at the heart of the energy transition
To meet the growth in global energy demand, while helping to contain global warming, natural gas, the least emitting of fossil fuels, is one of the pillars of the transition to a low-carbon-emissions world.
Natural gas, a clean, flexible and secure source of energy, is a key energy source of the transition: first of all, it plays a major role in electricity generation through its flexibility and its ability to meet rapidly growing demand with the electrification of uses.
Natural gas emits half as much greenhouse gas (GHG) as coal in electricity generation and allows, by replacing it, substantial emission reductions. The imperative condition for gas to play this role is that all actors in the chain, companies and States alike, mobilise to combat methane emissions, as recalled by COP26 in Glasgow with the commitment of 105 States to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
The main benefits of natural gas are:
- widely available and well-distributed resources globally thanks to LNG;
- a simple and immediate solution to decarbonize electricity and industry, particularly in energy-intensive sectors (steel, cement factories, etc.);
- An ideal partner and complement to renewable energies, by nature intermittent and seasonal ;
- at the heart of the roadmaps of many coal- and oil-consuming countries towards their "Net Zero" ambition;
- raw material for the massive development of blue hydrogen with CO2 capture and sequestration technologies.
In this context, TotalEnergies LNG Services France benefits from TotalEnergies' expertise and experience acquired throughout the natural gas chain from production to trading, including gas liquefaction plants, LNG transport by LNG carriers, LNG regasification terminals, gas-fired power plants and distribution.
LNG for maximum flexibility
Once cooled to -16-2 degrees Celsius, natural gas is in a liquid state (LNG: colorless, odorless, non-corrosive and non-toxic liquid), occupying a volume about 600 times smaller than in the gaseous state, and can thus be easily transported and transported as close as possible to places of consumption, anywhere in the world.
Liquefied natural gas transported by sea transcends borders and can travel from one continent to another without constraint. On the other hand, as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has recently demonstrated, gas pipelines, by nature fixed, can become "geopolitical weapons" between a producer and its consumer customer. LNG therefore offers greater flexibility of supply. The LNG chain also makes it possible to transport gas safely when pipeline transport is not feasible or when the distance between the place of production and the place of consumption is too great.
The “Le Havre LNG” receiving and regasification terminal will provide France with a tool to diversify its major sources of natural gas supply in a context of deteriorating supply security conditions for the French & European gas markets.
