The Sapphire Technologies team attended Gastech 2024 last week in Houston, along with over 45,000 attendees from 156 countries. Houston was the perfect location for this industry forum, as Texas is the top crude oil and natural gas producer in the US, the Houston region is the country’s top-producer of renewable energy, and the Gulf Coast is home to the largest producing network of Hydrogen.
This year’s Gastech conference featured conversations with industry leaders, policymakers, and energy professionals on natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, and climate technologies. Here are our key takeaways from the conference:
Primetime for LNG
One central theme of this year’s conference was the growing importance of liquified natural gas (LNG) as a transition fuel, an enabler of energy security, and an important US export. As industry leaders discussed the importance of deploying a “realistic” approach to transitioning to carbon neutral fuels, LNG was named time and again as an immediate solution to reduce global reliance on coal, while ensuring energy security. LNG is especially important for markets with growing energy demand and heavy reliance on coal – like China and India. Supply chains that transport LNG could also be leveraged to transport green fuels like ammonia, which is gaining attention as a safer means of storing and transporting hydrogen.
Read more about how Sapphire Technologies is helping decarbonize the LNG supply chain.
AI, AI, AI
Several drivers of increased demand for natural gas were discussed at Gastech 2024. Chief among these factors was the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and the demand for stable, reliable energy it creates.
“The LNG market will grow, as electricity demand will go up 15 percent by 2030 due to the rise of AI alone,” said Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Executive Director of the Low Carbon Solutions & International Growth Directorate of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC.
As Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said in his keynote address, “AI advances will depend not only on the design labs of Silicon Valley, but also on the gas fields of the Permian Basin.”
Due to the high cost of downtime, data centers deploy heavy-emitting backup energy sources like diesel generators. The idea of switching to renewable energy sources to power data centers is not an option due to the intermittency of these sources.
“Until energy storage for renewables improves, gas remains irreplaceable for meeting the ever-growing energy demand in this era of artificial intelligence,” said Arun Singh Chairman and CEO, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).
Read our POV on leveraging waste energy from midstream natural gas to power data centers.
Stabilizing Regulatory Environment a Must
Global investment in LNG infrastructure will reach $42bn annually this year, according to Rystad Energy, with the US leading the world in LNG exports. However, industry leaders at Gastech 2024 expressed the importance of a stable regulatory environment if investment is to continue.
Citing the uncertain regulatory environment, Cynthia Hansen, executive vice-president and president, gas transmission and midstream, Enbridge Inc., said that more assurance is needed "to invest in large LNG projects at a more reliable pace."
Some industry leaders criticized the current administration’s recent pause on LNG permits as counterproductive to achieving emissions reductions and energy security.
“When it comes to advancing economic prosperity, energy security, and environmental protection, an LNG permitting pause fails on all three,” said Chevron CEO Mike Wirth.
A Gradual Transition, with Immediate Opportunities
Overall, Gastech 2024 offered a look into promising clean fuels like green ammonia, but also delivered a clear message: the energy transition will have to happen in stages.
As Jack Fusco, CEO of LNG company Cheniere, said, “There’s a misconception that you can replace base-loaded, coal-fired power plants with renewables. You can’t. You can’t start your oven or your hair dryer or your dishwasher on renewable power.”
While an immediate shift away from fossil fuels is not viable, conference attendees agreed that substantial immediate emission reductions can be achieved globally by shifting to cleaner burning fuels like natural gas.
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