Natural Gas

Natural gas is natural, and the safe and responsible development of natural gas benefits Canadian workers and the environment.

Global energy demand will increase dramatically in the coming years. Why would Canada not use its world-leading expertise to ensure that the energy demand is met in a responsible way?

Natural gas currently employs 250,000 Canadians in every province and is expected to help 650,000 workers put food on their tables by 2035. Shouldn’t we be supporting these Canadian workers?

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Counter-Points

Point: Burning natural gas causes pollution and increases emissions.

Counter-Point The combustion of natural gas produces “mainly water vapour and carbon dioxide.” That’s why it’s significantly cleaner to burn natural gas than wood or coal, “more chemically complex” substances that “release a variety of potentially harmful chemicals into the air.” In fact, by switching to natural gas, we can reduce emissions by cutting down on the use of more emissions-intensive fuel sources. For that reason, exporting Canadian natural gas could be the secret weapon to reducing emissions worldwide!

Point: Methane leaks and fugitive emissions are not being addressed by the oil and gas industry.

Counter-Point Counter-Point The Canadian oil and gas industry has rigorous guidelines to manage methane leaks and fugitive emissions. Oil and gas producers are required by the BC Oil and Gas Commission to have systems in place to “detect and repair leaks.” And CAPP recently developed their own plan for industry to “reduce methane emissions by 45 per cent by 2025” without sacrificing jobs or the economy.

Because of leaks, Methane does not have a climate benefit over coal.

Counter-Point It is common consensus that a methane leakage under 3.2% still maintains a climate benefit over coal. Estimated leakage rates are between 1.2% – 2.3%

Point: That study by Robert Horwath shows that Natural Gas is not actually a bridge fuel.

Dr. Robert Horwath has been discredited multiple times for his studies on natural gas, as this recent study shows and explains “there is no large increase of total methane emissions in the United States in the past decade”
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2018GL081731

Point: Canada still does not have a clean natural gas sector. It only pollutes.

Canadian natural gas industry has consistently reduced flaring of methane due to technology advances. They’ve reduced flaring by over 63% in Alberta alone!
https://www.canadasnaturalgas.ca/en/environmental-action/air/flaring-and-venting

Any natural gas project will only hurt the planet.

Technological developments like Canada’s Advanced Methane Detection, Analytics and Mitigation Project are slated to reduce Canada’s leakage by 45% while continuing to provide reliable energy from Canadian hydrocarbons.
https://www.ptac.org/advanced-methane-detection-analytics-and-mitigation-project/

Point: Canadian LNG can't help reduce emissions in China.

Common sense tells us that natural gas has lower emissions than coal. So does this independent study that says Canadian LNG is 20% lower in emissions than even high-efficiency coal power plants in China,
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.est.7b05298/suppl_file/es7b05298_si_001.pdf

Point: We shouldn't develop oil and natural gas in B.C.. It;s unprofitable!

the Government of B.C. expects gas royalties to increase by 35% in 2020. Oil and gas are expected to bring in almost $491 million in 2020/2021.
https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2020/pdf/2020_budget_and_fiscal_plan.pdf

Point: GNL Quebec is gonna increase emissions, stopping any climate benefit.

Counterpoint: According to the Impact Assessement, GNL Quebec is expected to save 28 million tonnes of GHGs worldwide every year bringing more responsibly produced western Canadian natural gas to the world.
https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/documents/p80115/129690E.pdf

LNG from Quebec will be made using fossil fueled energy.

Like British Columbia, GNL Quebec will use 100% hydroelectricity to produce more best in the world Canadian LNG.
https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-gas-in-todays-energy-transitions

Point: Natural gas use for cooking can seriously harm you and the environment

This direct quote from the Canada Health Guidelines is consistent with independent research that says modern gas stoves with proper ventilation are safe. It is interesting to note that faulty wiring is the number one cause of household fires.

“Data from Canadian indoor air studies indicate that the concentration of NO₂in most electric stove homes will rarely exceed this level and that this concentration is also attainable in gas stove homes when adequate stovetop ventilation is used.”
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/residential-indoor-air-quality-guideline-nitrogen-dioxide.html

Despite headline-grabbing claims that gas stove use can increase the risk of respiratory issues such as asthma, this independent study found that most studies have been inconclusive for both children and adults and not found there is increased risk.
https://thorax.bmj.com/content/57/11/9

Point: Woodfibre LNG is going to dramatically increase emissions..

According to this independent study done by environmental consulting company Mantle 314, projects like Woodfibre LNG could decrease global emissions enough to take 700,000 cars off the road or 76 years worth of Squamish’s emissions per year.
https://woodfibrelng.ca/about-woodfibre/sustainability/ghg-emissions-impact/

Studies

Health and Well-ness: Analysis of Key Public Health Indicators in Six of the Most Heavily Drilled Marcellus Shale Counties in Pennsylvania

Title: Health and Well-ness: Analysis of Key Public Health Indicators in Six of the Most Heavily Drilled Marcellus Shale Counties in Pennsylvania Author: Susan E. Mickley, MPH Freelance Health Research Consultant Lehigh Valley Publisher: Energy In-Depth Date: December 2017 Full Text Article Summary: Summary: This report reviews mortality rates by selected major causes of

LNG and Coal Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Title: LNG and Coal Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Author: Pace Global Date: October 2015 Full Text Article Summary: This report highlight important differences between the emissions generated from LNG and coal for power generation, namely that: Existing coal technology for the five LNG export markets analyzed in this study was found

Gas Opportunities for Atlantic Canada

Title: Gas Opportunities for Atlantic Canada Author: Andrew Pickford Publisher: Atlantic Institute for Market Studies Date: February 2016 Full Text Article Summary: The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) has produced a report on the potential for Atlantic Canada to capitalize on the golden age of gas. The report, authored by Andrew Pickford, examines

Clearing the Air: How Canadian LNG Exports Could Help Meet World Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals

Title: Clearing the Air: How Canadian LNG Exports Could Help Meet World Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals Author: James W. Coleman and Sarah Marie Jordaan Publisher: C.D. Howe Institute Date: August 24, 2016 Full Text Article Summary: With a glut of natural gas in North America, Canada’s natural gas sector is looking to reach new

Clearing the Air: How Canadian LNG Exports Could Help Meet World Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals

An International Comparison of Leading Oil and Gas Producing Regions

Title: An International Comparison of Leading Oil and Gas Producing Regions Author: WorleyParsons Date: January 2014 Full Text Article Summary: The purpose of this study was to compare Alberta, Canada with other locations around the world in terms of their environmental policies, laws and regulatory systems. Other locations that were compared with Alberta

Safety First: Intermodal Safety for Oil and Gas Transportation

Title: Safety First: Intermodal Safety for Oil and Gas Transportation Author: Kenneth P. Green & Taylor Jackson Publisher: Fraser Institute Date: 2017 Full Text Article Summary: A contentious road lies ahead for the construction of three recently approved oil pipelines (Trans Mountain, Line 3, and Keystone XL). Given continued opposition to oil and gas

Evaluating Energy in the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City Initiative: The “De Facto” Ban on Natural Gas

Title: Evaluating Energy in the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City Initiative: The “De Facto” Ban on Natural Gas Author: Karen Graham Publisher: Resource Works Date: September 2017 Full Text Article Summary: The author finds that there is a “de facto” ban on natural gas being imposed under the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City Initiative.

LNG: CANADA’S GLOBAL MARKET OPPORTUNITY

Title: LNG: CANADA’S GLOBAL MARKET OPPORTUNITY Author: JWN, Evaluate Energy, Daily Oil Bulletin Publisher: JWN Date: August 23rd – 2019 Full Text Article Summary: This report examines how Canadian gas supplies — delivered to worldwide markets through LNG export terminals on theWest Coast and the East Coast — can help

Quantifying methane emissions from natural gas production in north-eastern Pennsylvania

Title: Quantifying methane emissions from natural gas production in north-eastern Pennsylvania Author: Barkley, Lauvaux, Davis, Deng et al. Publisher: Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. Date: November 2017 Full Study Here Summary: Using the model optimization approach, the weighted mean emission rate from unconventional natural gas production and gathering facilities in

Natural Gas

Title: Natural Gas Author: First Nations LNG Alliance Publisher: First Nations LNG Alliance Date: May 2018 Full Text Article Summary: -If we compare wood, coal, diesel and natural gas, natural gas has the highest energy density.

The Role of Natural Gas in Powering Canada’s Economy

Title: The Role of Natural Gas in Powering Canada’s Economy Author: Pedro Antunes, Len Coad, and Alicia Macdonald Publisher: Conference Board of Canada Date: December 17, 2012 Full Text Article Summary: Demand for Canadian natural gas will double between 2012 and 2035, driven by production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Asian export markets and

The Relative GHG Emissions of Conventional and Shale Gas Production

Title: The Relative GHG Emissions of Conventional and Shale Gas Production Author: Trevor Stephenson, Jose Eduardo Valle, & Xavier Riera-Palou (2011). Publisher: Environmental Science & Technology Date: 2011 Full Text Article Summary: Recent reports show growing reserves of unconventional gas are available and that there is an appetite from policy makers, industry, and others to better

Safety First: Intermodal Safety for Oil and Gas Transportation

A Changing Tide: British Columbia’s Emerging Liquefied Natural Gas Industry

Title: A Changing Tide: British Columbia’s Emerging Liquefied Natural Gas Industry Author: Len Coad, Daniel Munro, Prince Owusu, & Allison Robins Publisher: The Conference Board of Canada. Date: February 29, 2016 Full Text Article Summary: A Changing Tide: British Columbia’s Emerging Liquefied Natural Gas Industry quantifies the potential economic and labour market impacts associated with

Natural Gas

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