What is Going on Regarding Sustainability in the Gas Industry?

About the Oil and Gas Industry

The oil and gas industry is one of the world’s largest and most capital intensive industries, producing not only end products like fuel oil or natural gas, but also the raw materials for different chemical products. In addition, it is a complex market with an extensive supply chain that often cuts across several geographical areas.

The oil and gas industry represents the heart of the production and consumption of energy. Moreover, almost half of the world’s energy demand is covered by oil and gas. Therefore, achieving sustainability in the gas industry is a promising but also challenging task. It implies finding a balance between 4 sectors: ecology, economics, politics and culture.

Furthermore, in order to achieve further development in this industry along with long term sustainability, it is necessary to have a look at suppliers and service providers for each sector of the gas industry and the whole value chain. This includes exploration, offshore, production, transportation, refining and storage.

Historically, low natural gas prices have begun to affect corporate renewable energy purchasing decisions. Low natural gas prices are causing challenges for renewable energy projects, making it harder to justify any cost premium for renewable technologies.

Sustainability

In order to achieve a sustainable development, it is necessary to meet high levels of sustainable energy. Energy production and use account for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions. A radical shift to low-carbon energy supplies is essential to avoid levels of threatening climate change. In this respect, regulations are getting tougher in this industry, aiming to increase responsibility and awareness of those involved in the different parts of the supply chain.

In addition, according to the New Climate Economy Report, fast-rising energy demand is expected to require US$45 trillion in new infrastructure investments by 2030. This should be seen as a chance to build more efficient, greener, and flexible energy systems that are also less vulnerable to rising and volatile fossil fuel prices.

The Sustainable Energy for All is an initiative from the United Nations that brings together top-level leadership from all sectors of society. They work together and focus to achieve a broad-based transformation of the world’s energy systems and to build a more prosperous world for future generations. In 2011, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shared his vision to achieve sustainable energy by 2030. The three objectives of this initiative are:

• To provide universal access to modern energy services.
• To double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
• To double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Moreover, among the main priorities for this industry is using more renewable energy sources and emphasise on energy efficiency throughout the entire fuel supply chain. Another priority is to reduce flaring of gas from operations and identify opportunities to reuse captured gas on-site or provide energy to local communities. In addition, it is expected that a lot of money will be invested in research and development to improve efficiency in operation. Also, big efforts will be made in order to promote international trade in sustainable energy products.

In addition, there are some innovation trends rising in the industry to create new sustainable energy opportunities while making the market grow. For example, energy efficient technologies to access and process hard to reach, lower quality, and new types of oil and gas are being developed.

What is the World Gas Conference Paris 2015?

In order to achieve a more sustainable energy consumption, the role of governments is essential. Their ability to develop effective regulations and incentives is fundamental in terms of the future of the energy industry and its sustainability. In addition, it is crucial that stakeholders of this industry work together and collaborate in the sharing of ideas.

The World Gas Conference (WGC) is the most important event of the International Gas Union (IGU) triennium. This event takes place every three years and brings together the leaders of the gas industry. The WGC Paris 2015 will take place in June and will work around the theme “Growing together towards a friendly planet”.

The focus of the conference will be to highlight the crucial role that gas will play in the future world growth, especially given the growing demand for green sources of energy. The conference aims to present the gas industry as an opportunity for growing economies, who are pressured to switch to clean energy when it comes to fuelling development.

The conference is structured in 4 days, each of which has a special topic assigned. The first day of the conference will go around the theme “Natural gas as a core pillar for a sustainable future of the planet”. The second day will discuss the topic of “Gas, renewables and electricity: together a perfect combination”. The third day of the event will work with “Natural gas as a growth factor for new economies” and last day will be “Human capital for the future of the gas industry”.

The WGC Paris 2015 is a unique opportunity for networking and for getting information on the latest developments in the gas industry.