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Assessment of Fuel-Cycle Impact of LNG in International Shipping

Assessment of Fuel-Cycle Impact of LNG in International Shipping

Full Title: Assessment of Fuel-Cycle Impact of LNG in International Shipping
Author(s): Dana Lowell, Haifeng Wang, and Nic Lutsey
Publisher(s): International Council on Clean Transportation
Publication Date: May 1, 2013
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

Although natural gas is being used more widely for road transport, it shows particular promise for the marine transport sector, which faces pressure from more stringent engine and fuel quality standards that will demand major emission reductions to improve air quality and mitigate climate change impacts. The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of conventional residual and distillate fuels will substantially reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM), obviating the need to pay a price premium for new, low-sulfur marine fuels and to install after-treatment equipment to meet the upcoming standards.

But considerable uncertainty remains about the net effects of LNG-fueled vessels on emissions. At issue are the upstream greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impacts, including the energy required to transport, handle, and process the fuel, as well as leakage of natural gas into the atmosphere.

This paper seeks to assess the extent to which the associated upstream carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions from producing LNG offset its potential climate benefit. It presents a novel analysis of eight discrete pathways that are expected to play a role in the supply of LNG as a bunker fuel, incorporating new data from a variety of sources and offering a rigorous and transparent accounting of where and how energy requirements, CO2 emissions, CH4 exhaust, and leakage emissions contribute to LNG’s overall impact. These “well-to-propeller” pathways are diverse, so as to cover the range of fuel-cycle paths by which natural gas can be distributed and processed before powering marine vessels. The pathways include a range of imported LNG and domestically produced natural gas, differences in LNG liquefaction facilities, and varying LNG distribution and storage routes.

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