Norwegian Natural Gas Research Articles

Exploring the Factors Leading to Diffusion of Alternative Fuels Using a Socio-Technical Transition Approach—A Case Study of LNG as a Marine Fuel in Norway

The maritime shipping sector needs to transition towards a low- or zero-emission future to align with the 1.5 °C temperature goal and the recently adopted and revised greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). A significant research gap exists in understanding how socio-economic and socio-political processes can lead to the adoption of alternative marine fuels that will be essential in meeting the aforementioned goals. The aim of this paper is to use a case study of an existing transition to understand how diffusion takes place, specifically how the adoption of liquified natural gas (LNG) in Norway has unfolded and what lessons can be learnt from this process. To answer this question, a combination of semi-structured interviews with key maritime stakeholders and documentary evidence was collected covering the period from 1985 to 2015. The collected data were analysed through a content analysis approach applying the multilevel perspective (MLP) as a heuristic. The qualitative results paint an interesting picture of the changing attitudes towards LNG as a marine fuel in Norway. In the early years, the adoption of LNG was primarily driven by air pollution and political considerations of using Norwegian natural gas, which over time, evolved into a more focused maritime paradigm painted through the lens of the Norwegian maritime industry under wider regulatory developments such as emission control areas (ECAs). By the 2010s, these drivers were superseded by GHG considerations such as methane slip concerns and a less favourable natural gas market leading to a slowdown of LNG adoption. These findings provide valuable insights for understanding future adoption dynamics of alternative zero-emission fuels, particularly in relation to the role of strong technology champions, institutional modification requirements, and starting conditions for a transition.

Optimal utilization of natural gas pipeline storage capacity under future supply uncertainty

The ability of pipelines to store gas by increasing their operating pressure, or linepacking, is a common operational practice used to mitigate future operational uncertainty. The optimal operation of a gas pipeline network considering linepacking is determined by weighing the trade-off between storing linepack and compressor power consumption. Existing compressor performance models do not accurately capture the rigorous nonlinear operating relationships, and the more accurate widely-used models are computationally complex. This paper develops a novel integer-linear data-driven compressor performance model which is shown to be both more accurate than the best existing model, and less computationally complex. An integer-linear gas transportation model that captures future operational uncertainty using a two-stage multi-period stochastic framework is introduced and solved in a case study on a subnetwork of the Norwegian natural gas network. The case study demonstrates the novel model is highly accurate and can be optimized quickly enough for real-time decision support.

Comparative Assessment of Life Cycle GHG Emissions from European Natural Gas Supply Chains

Recent studies reporting on the GHG emissions from NG chains where gas is consumed in Europe provide wide ranging estimates. A detailed life cycle GHG emissions estimation of two Norwegian natural gas production and European consumption chains has been carried out and validated with detailed operational data. CO2 and CH4 emissions were estimated at unit process level using engineering calculations, material balance, and high-resolution emissions factors resulting in GHG emissions footprints between 2.26-7.05 gCO2 eq/MJ NG delivered to European markets. The estimated CH4 emissions for the chains as a fraction of production was 0.01-0.04%. Important differences in GHG footprint are observed annually and also between neighbouring fields. Nevertheless, results indicate that the GHG footprint of both the Norwegian LNG and pipeline gas imported to Europe is well below recently reported EU averages.

Scalar politics and strategic consolidation: The Norwegian Gas Forum's quest for embedding Norwegian gas resources in domestic space

Underthun, A., Kasa, S. & Reitan, M. 2011. Scalar politics and strategic consolidation: The Norwegian Gas Forum's quest for embedding Norwegian gas resources in domestic space. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography Vol. 65, 226–237. ISSN 0029-1951. The article discusses political initiatives and networks that aim to enhance the use of Norwegian natural gas resources in domestic space. Through perspectives on state rescaling and scalar politics, the authors explore the strategies of the Norwegian Gas Forum (NGF). This political network serves as an umbrella organization for regional political initiatives for local distribution and exploitation of natural gas along the Norwegian coast. It is argued that the initiatives demonstrate a scalar politics that counter tendencies of state rescaling in the realm of petroleum politics, where the state is less willing to invest and intervene in domestic natural gas utilization. The article examines the NGF's policy work, organizational composition, and ‘networks of association’ with other organizations. This is framed in the analysis as ‘scalar politics’ aiming to secure the member regions’ current and future dependence on domestic gas supplies. The important networks of association in relation to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) implied compromise and consolidation among the regional members of NGF, but also empowered NGF on important policy issues.

Using operations research to optimise operation of the Norwegian natural gas system

Decisions regarding natural gas production, processing and transportation depend on each other, and knowledge about how partial changes in a gas transmission network influence the network capacity and flexibility is crucial in ensuring efficient system operation. SINTEF has developed a decision support tool, GassOpt, which is based on mixed-integer optimisation. The model objective is to maximise the flow throughput or profit for a given technical state of a natural gas network. The objective of this work has been to develop extensions to the GassOpt model mainly related to modelling of gas processing and energy consumption related to compression, and to analyse their impact on network operation. The extended GassOpt model represents and analyses a gas transport network in more detail, in particular in discovering bottlenecks, related to gas quality, contaminants and energy efficiency, which have obtained increased focus in recent time. GassOpt is a general tool for gas network optimisation, but applied on the Norwegian gas transport network specifically. The GassOpt tool is used to evaluate the current network as well as possible network extensions. Our approach ensures optimal operation of the network by considering the complete system and provides valuable insights in the dependencies between the different parts of the system. Tests show that the model represents actual network operation in a very good way.

European energy security: The future of Norwegian natural gas production

The European Union (EU) is expected to meet its future growing demand for natural gas by increased imports. In 2006, Norway had a 21% share of EU gas imports. The Norwegian government has communicated that Norwegian gas production will increase by 25–40% from today's level of about 99 billion cubic meters (bcm)/year. This article shows that only a 20–25% growth of Norwegian gas production is possible due to production from currently existing recoverable reserves and contingent resources. A high and a low production forecast for Norwegian gas production is presented. Norwegian gas production exported by pipeline peaks between 2015 and 2016, with minimum peak production in 2015 at 118 bcm/year and maximum peak production at 127 bcm/year in 2016. By 2030 the pipeline export levels are 94–78 bcm. Total Norwegian gas production peaks between 2015 and 2020, with peak production at 124–135 bcm/year. By 2030 the production is 96–115 bcm/year. The results show that there is a limited potential for increased gas exports from Norway to the EU and that Norwegian gas production is declining by 2030 in all scenarios. Annual Norwegian pipeline gas exports to the EU, by 2030, may even be 20 bcm lower than today's level.

Optimizing the Norwegian Natural Gas Production and Transport

The network for transport of natural gas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with 7,800 km of subsea pipelines, is the world's largest offshore pipeline network. The gas flowing through this network represents approximately 15 percent of European consumption, and the system has a capacity of 120 billion standard cubic meters (bcm) a year. In a network of interconnected pipelines, system effects are prevalent, and the network must be analyzed as a whole to determine the optimal operation. SINTEF has developed a decision support tool, GassOpt, which is based on a mixed-integer program, to optimize the network configuration and routing for the main Norwegian shipper of natural gas, StatoilHydro, and the independent network operator, Gassco. GassOpt allows users to graphically model their network and run optimizations to find the best solutions quickly. StatoilHydro and Gassco use it to evaluate the current network and possible network extensions. Both companies use operations research (OR) methods in the departments that are responsible for transport planning and security of supply. Several new OR projects have grown out from this cooperation. StatoilHydro estimates that its accumulated savings related to the use of GassOpt were approximately US$2 billion in the period 1995–2008.

5.1.4 Information modelling and systems re‐engineering—an efficient approach to assessing complex current Norwegian natural gas transport operations

AbstractThis paper presents the use of information models as tools for systematically assessing existing Norwegian natural gas transport operations. The models, integral parts of a systems re‐engineering process to analyze the entire transport operation, consist of a requirement traceability model, a system architecture model, a behavior model, and a context model. These models not only consistently define existing operations, but also verify how well the operations meet effectiveness measures that have been identified for the operations.Systems re‐engineering and the models derived from it are shown here to reduce the asymmetry in information that is typically present in this industry between principals and their agents (e.g., authorities vs. system owners, system owners vs. system operators, and shippers vs. shippers' dispatching representatives). Further, information modelling of an existing system is shown here to differ from the more traditional application of information modelling: to bring a new system into being.Models provide a scientific framework for evaluating how a changing business environment impacts existing operations. New legislative requirements and economic measures can be tested with models, which also allow new operational services and business opportunities to be identified and evaluated prior to implementation in actual operations.

Recent Modelling Approaches in Applied Energy Economics

ONE The European Gas Market.- 1 The Western European gas market: deregulation and supply competition.- 2 Residential energy demand - the evolution and future potential of natural gas in Western Europe.- 3 The European gas market as a bargaining game.- 4 Bargaining, vertical control, and (de)regulation in the European gas market.- 5 Environmental effects of a transition from oil and coal to natural gas in Europe.- TWO Management of National Petroleum Resources.- 6 Petroleum resources and the management of national wealth.- 7 Oil and gas revenues and the Norwegian economy in retrospect: alternative macroeconomic policies.- 8 The resource rent for Norwegian natural gas.- 9 Social discount rates for Norwegian oil projects under uncertainty.- 10 The choice between hydro and thermal power generation under uncertainty.- 11 The management of jointly produced exhaustible resources.- THREE The World Oil Market and Macroeconomic Performance.- 12 The options for independent oil-exporting countries in the 1990s.- 13 Business cycles and oil price fluctuations: some evidence for six OECD countries.

Natural Gas: New Dimensions of Norwegian Foreign Policy

Saeter, M. Natural Gas: New Dimensions of Norwegian Foreign Policy. Cooperation and Conflict, XVII, 1982, 139-150. The author analyses the foreign policy aspects of Norwegian natural gas policy in a regional European perspective. The focus is on the development of a regional West European pipeline gas supply system as part of a more wide-ranging economic and political cooperation of a long-term character. Because the main sources of such a gas supply system are Norway, the Soviet Union, and Algeria, and because huge pipelines from these countries to Western Europe constitute the concrete basis of the system, there are important political considerations involved. Especially the prospect of bring ing gas by pipeline through Sweden to the Continent brings the interface of East West, Nordic, and West European dimensions into focus. Finally, possibilities for Norwegian-Soviet energy cooperation are discussed.