Page 296 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2024

COMMODITIES

new record high of 97.7% in 2022. This increase LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG)
US LNG exports came after a significant decline in import depend-
averaged ency in 2021 to 91.6%. Global LNG market could split if an EU carbon
11.9 billion The import dependency recorded in 2022 tax is imposed on imports
cubic feet per resulted from a combination of changes in net The global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market
day in 2023. imports (+9.5%), with imports rising by 4.9% and could be transformed and potentially bifurcated
exports declining by 1.7%, and gross available if the European Union (EU) extends its carbon
energy going up by 2.8%, according to Eurostat’s taxes to include LNG imports, according to Wood
data. The increase in dependency was also driven Mackenzie’s latest Horizons report.
by a stock buildup of 8.3 million tonnes of oil The EU has extended its Emission Trading
equivalent (Mtoe). The buildup helped refill some Scheme (ETS) to shipping, meaning that LNG
of the crude oil and petroleum used up in 2021 cargoes into Europe will be subject to a carbon
when the biggest yearly usage (20.2 Mtoe) was tax from 2024. The report, titled “Call of duties:
recorded. Restocking in 2022 contributed to the How emission taxes on imports could transform
increased import dependency. the global LNG market,” concludes that if the
The dependence on imported crude oil, an essen- trading bloc goes further and tightens its meth-
tial primary commodity for the petrochemical ane regulation or includes LNG in its Carbon Bor-
industry and the production of transport fuels, der Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) – effectively
also increased in 2022, reaching 97.6%. placing an import duty on LNG at prevailing ETS
Higher demand for fuels in the transport sector carbon prices – then Wood Mackenzie predicts
contributed to an increase in crude oil usage. that the global LNG market would split.
Motor gasoline consumption increased by 6.3%, “If the EU decides to apply these levies, then this
and kerosene-type jet fuel consumption rose by will push European gas prices up but also bifur-
32.5% in 2022 compared with 2021. cate the global LNG market, creating a two-tier
The increase in import dependency coincided LNG market,” says Massimo Di Odoardo, Vice
with considerable changes in import origins. In President of Gas & LNG Research at Wood Mac-
May 2022, the European Commission imple- kenzie. “If taxes were limited to the EU, or even
mented the REPowerEU plan to reduce its extended to Japan and South Korea, trade flows
dependency on Russian fossil fuels. In 2022, would likely be optimised elsewhere to mitigate
imports of oil and petroleum products from Rus- the impact”.
sia decreased by 24.57 million tonnes. Increased The report adds that while LNG players are
imports from Saudi Arabia, the United States and actively working to reduce the greenhouse gas
Norway compensated for this decrease. (GHG) footprint of their projects, the reluctance
from buyers to pay a premium for lower-emission
Chevron exits Myanmar amid humanitarian crisis LNG has so far curbed sellers’ appetite to commit
US oil major Chevron has confirmed its with- to major investments to reduce carbon intensity.
drawal from the Yadana gas field in Myanmar The report adds that not all LNG projects are
more than two years after condemning violence equal. Methane, measured in kilograms of carbon
and human rights violations and announcing its dioxide equivalent (kg CO2e), accounts for 5% to
intention to exit operations due to the fragile 15% of the overall carbon intensity in LNG pro-
political situation. jects outside the US. However, for LNG projects
Chevron sold its 41.1% stake in the Yadana nat- in the US, methane can account for as much as
ural gas field to the remaining shareholders, 25% to 40%. This is mainly due to higher levels
Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production and of methane losses caused by the extensive use of
Myanmar’s state oil and gas company, Myanma pneumatic devices and compressors associated
Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). with shale gas production.
“Our withdrawal reflects our intention to exit
Myanmar in a controlled and orderly manner, fol- US the top LNG exporter in 2023
lowing the February 2021 coup and the ongoing The United States exported more liquefied natu-
humanitarian crisis,” a Chevron spokesman said, ral gas (LNG) than any other country in 2023. US
according to a Reuters report. LNG exports averaged 11.9 billion cubic feet per
Myanmar has been in crisis since the military day (Bcf/d)—a 12% increase (1.3 Bcf/d) compared
overthrew the elected government in 2021. with 2022, according to data from our Natural
Human rights groups and United Nations experts Gas Monthly.
have accused Myanmar’s military of committing LNG exports from Australia and Qatar—the
atrocities against civilians in its effort to crush world’s two other largest LNG exporters—each
resistance. ranged from 10.1 Bcf/d to 10.5 Bcf/d annually

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