A Strategic natural gas reserve is a government funded natural gas storage facility that holds long term stock piles of natural gas as compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas in case of an emergency. After the 2021–2023 global energy crisis, there has been several countries in East Asia and India that have signaled a commitment to building national strategic natural gas reserves such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China.[1]
East Asia
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East Asia natural gas commodities tracker is the PLATTS index, and reached as high as $70 per million British thermal units in 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine during the Second Cold War.
Taiwan
editState owned energy firm CPC Corp holds about 11 days worth of natural gas usage in stockpile and is going to increase it to 14 days.
Japan
editJapan is the world's largest importer of LNG and plans to work with the International Energy Agency to help establish and coordinate a strategic natural gas reserve.[2]
South Korea
editSouth Korea is the third largest importer of LNG and is building its 6th LNG strategic natural gas reserve facility. It keeps nine days worth of winter usage in strategic storage along with an undisclosed amount of commercial stockpile.
China
editState owned CNOOC completed 10-billion-cubic-metres (bcm) of storage in 2023, and plans to have 55-60 bcm by 2025 or 13% of total gas consumption for one year.
India
editThe Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board in India is putting together a plan as of July 2023 to build strategic natural gas reserves in either abandoned gas wells and underground storage. They currently have no national natural gas reserves.[3]
United States
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As of 2023 there are no national strategic natural gas reserve facilities in the United States.
A 2007 study found that as of May 2004, there was roughly 8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of commercial gas storage capacity in the US, with about 4 Tcf needed to always remain in storage as base gas. Base gas is needed in order to provide enough pressure for gas to be withdrawn on demand. Therefore, total working storage capacity is about 4 Tcf. This is equal to approximately 17% of annual consumption.
Most gas storage is in depleted gas or oil fields, with the second largest storage capacity being in aquifers, and the smallest in salt caverns. Depleted gas or oil fields are the cheapest to commission, as they take advantage of existing wells, internal distribution systems, and pipeline connections. They are also widely available.[4]
Europe
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* Russia cut the flow of natural gas by more than half in June 2022 because they alleged they could not get a part seized by the Canadian government because of sanctions. Siemens, the producer of the part, denied that this piece was critical for operations.[6]
* Russia halted gas flows on 11 July 2022 for annual maintenance for 10 days and resumed partial operations on 21 July.[7]
* Russia stopped the flow of natural gas on 31 August 2022 for alleged maintenance for 3 days, but later said they could not provide a timeframe for restarting gas flow. The EU accused Russia of fabricating a false story to justify the cut.[8]
X Pipeline was sabotaged on 26 September 2022.
The European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson plans to green energy transition Europe to renewable energy instead of a strategic natural gas reserve.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Chow, Emily; Obayashi, Yuka; Obayashi, Yuka (20 July 2023). "Wary of 2022 crisis, Asian buyers to build strategic gas reserves". Reuters.
- ^ Golubkova, Katya; Chow, Emily (18 July 2023). "Japan to establish LNG reserves this year; IEA may play bigger role". Reuters.
- ^ Verma, Nidhi (10 July 2023). "India's gas regulator pitches for building natural gas storage". Reuters.
- ^ Ellison, James; Kelic, Andjelka (May 2007). "Is a Natural Gas Strategic Reserve for the US Necessary? A System Dynamics Approach".
- ^ "Network Data". Nord-stream.info. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Canada seeking pathway to enable German gas flow amid Russian sanctions -Bloomberg". Reuters. 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Russia Resumes Nord Stream Gas Flow, Bringing Europe Respite". Bloomberg.com. 21 July 2022.
- ^ Steitz, Christoph; Davis, Caleb (3 September 2022). "Russia scraps gas pipeline reopening, stoking European fuel fears". Reuters.
- ^ "Time for Europe and the IEA to create a strategic gas reserve". 27 September 2021.