The International Gas Union Research Conference (IGRC) is coming to Banff in 2024, and with it comes the opportunity to showcase and promote one of the natural gas industry’s greatest strengths: innovation.
It will be a unique opportunity to shift the narrative and demonstrate the role of natural gas in human progress and advancement. Gas is good for economic prosperity and the environment. But it’s not a static story. We need to show that natural gas — along the full value chain — is moving with the times, and the case for it is getting stronger through technology and innovation.
There are new innovations in gas technology announced every week (in methane emissions’ reductions, cleaner gas-fuelled power generation, blue hydrogen developments, carbon capture and storage technologies, and many other areas). But too often, the stories of those innovations, how they work, and the value they bring to our daily lives, are not effectively communicated.
Too much jargon in the media is creating a barrier between the industry and its consumers, which is cleverly exploited by those who oppose fossil fuels. This translates into a growing misunderstanding of what gas is, what it is good for, and why we need to keep it around as the world’s energy system becomes cleaner.
Possibly the least exploited benefits of natural gas — and perhaps one of the least effectively explained by the industry and its supporters — are the hundreds or even thousands of uses that do not involve combustion: natural gas is a key building block for petrochemicals, and the myriad of derivatives of those petrochemicals are, in turn, the building blocks for nearly everything we use: from sandwich bags to cell phones; from pens to computers. Indeed, many of the technologies employed in the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar are, in fact, only possible through the contributions of natural gas in those manufacturing processes.
“[M]any of the technologies employed in the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar are, in fact, only possible through the contributions of natural gas in those manufacturing processes.”
IGRC 2024 will be an opportunity to inform, discuss and showcase the value of gas in a manner that cuts through this “noise” — clearly and concisely. In doing so, it will help consumers and politicians alike to comprehend the innovations that are driving the growth of the global natural gas industry, why they matter to the public, and why the story of natural gas is different from the story that is so widely — and incorrectly — portrayed in the media and in political discourse.
If we fail to do this, the industry will continue to talk only to the industry and not to a wider audience — an audience that will, in the end, determine the industry’s future. The natural gas story — past, present, and future — needs to be accessible to a far wider audience than is the case today, and the role of natural gas as a mainstay in our daily lives must be explained and reinforced as an essential piece of our energy future.
We need to push back the bad faith arguments against natural gas. Studies that reach questionable conclusions must be debunked, especially when those conclusions are picked up widely in the media and distorted.
The perfect is often the enemy of the good. There are continuously emerging technologies which bring about small emissions savings, for example, that when extended to entire energy systems can bring about significant benefits. There is no need to throw out energy systems that have served us well for decades, only to replace them with renewable — and more expensive — energy systems. Continuous improvement brings with it, by definition, cleaner, and more efficient results, and that improvement continues day-by-day, year-by-year.
To advance the case for natural gas and pave the road for the discussions we will be having in Banff in 2024, the Canadian Gas Association, in partnership with Minoils Media/Natural Gas World and within the framework of IGRC 2024, has launched Gas Pathways, an online communications and engagement platform that focuses on showcasing and promoting the work the natural gas industry is doing in the field of innovation, not just in Canada, but around the world.
Gas Pathways serves as a meeting place, both real and virtual, where the broad spectrum of stakeholders in the natural gas value chain can engage in dialogue, share their insights and perspectives, and craft strategies that can benefit society at large.
Through features, interviews, webinars and live events, Gas Pathways will pay close attention to the technologies that are enabling natural gas to remain affordable, reliable and resilient, while continuing to contribute every day to a cleaner energy system for all, whether for homeowners who use gas to heat their homes or cook their meals, or for those industries which rely on natural gas as an important raw material and feedstock to supply the world with the products it needs every day. Only by continuing to innovate in our use of natural gas can we maintain our quality of life, assist billions around the world who are searching for a path out of energy poverty, and overcome the environmental and economic challenges we all face in the days and years ahead. Gas Pathways will tell the stories, shed a spotlight on the innovators, and underscore the benefits natural gas brings to our lives — not just today or tomorrow, but all the way to 2050 and beyond.
João Salviano Carmo
Vice President for Strategy & Engagement
Natural Gas World/ Minoils Media Ltd.