DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Carbon footprint of global natural gas supplies to China

Abstract

As natural gas demand surges in China, driven by the coal-to-gas switching policy, widespread attention is focused on its impacts on global gas supply-demand rebalance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Here, for the first time, we estimate well-to-city-gate GHG emissions of gas supplies for China, based on analyses of field-specific characteristics of 104 fields in 15 countries. Results show GHG intensities of supplies from 104 fields vary from 6.2 to 43.3 g CO2eq MJ-1. Due to the increase of GHG-intensive gas supplies from Russia, Central Asia, and domestic shale gas fields, the supply-energy-weighted average GHG intensity is projected to increase from 21.7 in 2016 to 23.3 CO2eq MJ-1 in 2030, and total well-to-city-gate emissions of gas supplies are estimated to grow by ~3 times. While securing gas supply is a top priority for the Chinese government, decreasing GHG intensity should be considered in meeting its commitment to emission reductions.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
  2. Aramco Services Company, Novi, MI (United States). Aramco Research Center-Detroit
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); Aramco Services Company, Novi, MI (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
1607379
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 11; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
03 NATURAL GAS

Citation Formats

Gan, Yu, El-Houjeiri, Hassan M., Badahdah, Alhassan, Lu, Zifeng, Cai, Hao, Przesmitzki, Steven, and Wang, Michael. Carbon footprint of global natural gas supplies to China. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14606-4.
Gan, Yu, El-Houjeiri, Hassan M., Badahdah, Alhassan, Lu, Zifeng, Cai, Hao, Przesmitzki, Steven, & Wang, Michael. Carbon footprint of global natural gas supplies to China. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14606-4
Gan, Yu, El-Houjeiri, Hassan M., Badahdah, Alhassan, Lu, Zifeng, Cai, Hao, Przesmitzki, Steven, and Wang, Michael. Tue . "Carbon footprint of global natural gas supplies to China". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14606-4. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1607379.
@article{osti_1607379,
title = {Carbon footprint of global natural gas supplies to China},
author = {Gan, Yu and El-Houjeiri, Hassan M. and Badahdah, Alhassan and Lu, Zifeng and Cai, Hao and Przesmitzki, Steven and Wang, Michael},
abstractNote = {As natural gas demand surges in China, driven by the coal-to-gas switching policy, widespread attention is focused on its impacts on global gas supply-demand rebalance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Here, for the first time, we estimate well-to-city-gate GHG emissions of gas supplies for China, based on analyses of field-specific characteristics of 104 fields in 15 countries. Results show GHG intensities of supplies from 104 fields vary from 6.2 to 43.3 g CO2eq MJ-1. Due to the increase of GHG-intensive gas supplies from Russia, Central Asia, and domestic shale gas fields, the supply-energy-weighted average GHG intensity is projected to increase from 21.7 in 2016 to 23.3 CO2eq MJ-1 in 2030, and total well-to-city-gate emissions of gas supplies are estimated to grow by ~3 times. While securing gas supply is a top priority for the Chinese government, decreasing GHG intensity should be considered in meeting its commitment to emission reductions.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-020-14606-4},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 11,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Feb 11 00:00:00 EST 2020},
month = {Tue Feb 11 00:00:00 EST 2020}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 28 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Uncertainty in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from United States Natural Gas End-Uses and its Effects on Policy
journal, October 2011

  • Venkatesh, Aranya; Jaramillo, Paulina; Griffin, W. Michael
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 45, Issue 19
  • DOI: 10.1021/es200930h

Shale-to-well energy use and air pollutant emissions of shale gas production in China
journal, July 2014


Characterizing Regional Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Liquid Unloading
journal, March 2019

  • Zaimes, George G.; Littlefield, James A.; Augustine, Daniel J.
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 53, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05546

Air quality–carbon–water synergies and trade-offs in China’s natural gas industry
journal, September 2018


Estimating methane releases from natural gas production and transmission in Russia
journal, September 1999

  • Dedikov, J. V.; Akopova (VNIIGaz), G. S.; Gladkaja (VNIIGaz), N. G.
  • Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 33, Issue 20
  • DOI: 10.1016/S1352-2310(98)00388-4

Emerging Shale Gas Revolution in China
journal, November 2012

  • Chang, Yunhua; Liu, Xuejun; Christie, Peter
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 46, Issue 22
  • DOI: 10.1021/es3040939

Forecasting natural gas supply in China: Production peak and import trends
journal, October 2012


Low methane leakage from gas pipelines
journal, April 2005

  • Lelieveld, J.; Lechtenböhmer, S.; Assonov, S. S.
  • Nature, Vol. 434, Issue 7035
  • DOI: 10.1038/434841a

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of Marcellus shale gas
journal, July 2011


Can Switching from Coal to Shale Gas Bring Net Carbon Reductions to China?
journal, February 2017

  • Qin, Yue; Edwards, Ryan; Tong, Fan
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 51, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b04072

Comparative Life-Cycle Air Emissions of Coal, Domestic Natural Gas, LNG, and SNG for Electricity Generation
journal, September 2007

  • Jaramillo, Paulina; Griffin, W. Michael; Matthews, H. Scott
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 41, Issue 17
  • DOI: 10.1021/es063031o

Global carbon intensity of crude oil production
journal, August 2018

  • Masnadi, Mohammad S.; El-Houjeiri, Hassan M.; Schunack, Dominik
  • Science, Vol. 361, Issue 6405
  • DOI: 10.1126/science.aar6859

Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Assessment of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Addressing Uncertainty
journal, February 2015

  • Safaei, Amir; Freire, Fausto; Henggeler Antunes, Carlos
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1021/es505435j

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions From U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas Exports: Implications for End Uses
journal, February 2015

  • Abrahams, Leslie S.; Samaras, Constantine; Griffin, W. Michael
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1021/es505617p

The global carbon budget and the Paris agreement
journal, May 2019

  • Alcaraz, Olga; Buenestado, Pablo; Escribano, Beatriz
  • International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 11, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1108/IJCCSM-06-2017-0127

Natural gas supply-demand situation and prospect in China
journal, October 2014


Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Marine Fuels: A Case Study of Saudi Crude Oil versus Natural Gas in Different Global Regions
journal, March 2018

  • El‐Houjeiri, Hassan; Monfort, Jean‐Christophe; Bouchard, Jessey
  • Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 23, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12751

Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems
journal, February 2014


Open-Source LCA Tool for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Crude Oil Production Using Field Characteristics
journal, May 2013

  • El-Houjeiri, Hassan M.; Brandt, Adam R.; Duffy, James E.
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 47, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1021/es304570m

Future forecast for life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of LNG and city gas 13A
journal, November 2007


Well-to-refinery emissions and net-energy analysis of China’s crude-oil supply
journal, February 2018

  • Masnadi, Mohammad S.; El-Houjeiri, Hassan M.; Schunack, Dominik
  • Nature Energy, Vol. 3, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41560-018-0090-7

Future forecast for life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of LNG and city gas 13A
journal, November 2007


Can Switching from Coal to Shale Gas Bring Net Carbon Reductions to China?
journal, February 2017

  • Qin, Yue; Edwards, Ryan; Tong, Fan
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 51, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b04072

Characterizing Regional Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Liquid Unloading
journal, March 2019

  • Zaimes, George G.; Littlefield, James A.; Augustine, Daniel J.
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 53, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05546

Comparative Life-Cycle Air Emissions of Coal, Domestic Natural Gas, LNG, and SNG for Electricity Generation
journal, September 2007

  • Jaramillo, Paulina; Griffin, W. Michael; Matthews, H. Scott
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 41, Issue 17
  • DOI: 10.1021/es063031o

Uncertainty in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from United States Natural Gas End-Uses and its Effects on Policy
journal, October 2011

  • Venkatesh, Aranya; Jaramillo, Paulina; Griffin, W. Michael
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 45, Issue 19
  • DOI: 10.1021/es200930h

Open-Source LCA Tool for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Crude Oil Production Using Field Characteristics
journal, May 2013

  • El-Houjeiri, Hassan M.; Brandt, Adam R.; Duffy, James E.
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 47, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1021/es304570m

Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Assessment of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Addressing Uncertainty
journal, February 2015

  • Safaei, Amir; Freire, Fausto; Henggeler Antunes, Carlos
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1021/es505435j

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions From U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas Exports: Implications for End Uses
journal, February 2015

  • Abrahams, Leslie S.; Samaras, Constantine; Griffin, W. Michael
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1021/es505617p

Low methane leakage from gas pipelines
journal, April 2005

  • Lelieveld, J.; Lechtenböhmer, S.; Assonov, S. S.
  • Nature, Vol. 434, Issue 7035
  • DOI: 10.1038/434841a

Well-to-refinery emissions and net-energy analysis of China’s crude-oil supply
journal, February 2018

  • Masnadi, Mohammad S.; El-Houjeiri, Hassan M.; Schunack, Dominik
  • Nature Energy, Vol. 3, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41560-018-0090-7

Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Marine Fuels: A Case Study of Saudi Crude Oil versus Natural Gas in Different Global Regions
journal, March 2018

  • El‐Houjeiri, Hassan; Monfort, Jean‐Christophe; Bouchard, Jessey
  • Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 23, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12751

Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems
journal, February 2014


Assessment of methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply chain
journal, June 2018