Coal bed methane can reduce greenhouse gas emissions – Santos

Coalbed methane (CBM) player, Santos, argues that increased gas use is the best way to approach reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Australian firm released a statement in response to the report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (PICC), which reminded countries of the need for global action to address climate change.

Santos said that natural gas sourced from coal seams – and converted to LNG at plants such as the company’s LNG plant on Curtis Island near Queensland – can play “an increasingly significant role” in reducing the impact of climate change.

The company said CBM – LNG plants could meet increasing demand from Asian economies, which are rapidly increasing energy needs while reducing carbon footprint.

Santos said the Curtis Island plant could provide 9% of the entire gas requirements of South Korea, as well as 11% of Malaysia’s.

The firm said that while “we want low carbon energy, we can’t switch to 100% renewables overnight”.

“The global energy mix will be diverse. Renewables must continue to grow. Nuclear power will continue to have its place. In many situations coal will continue to provide the cheapest energy and oil will likely remain the largest part of the global energy mix for some time,” the company said in a statement.

However, Santos stressed that the energy bridging all fuel sources would be natural gas – and because of this, CBM would be vital to maintaining the so-called ‘gas bridge’.

CBM, therefore, was “without question the key to a cleaner energy future”, according to the company. 

Edited by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/cbm/13112014/coalbed-methane-can-help-reduce-greenhouse-emissions-cbm140/