PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The CEO of oil and gas major Woodside Energy, Peter Coleman, has urged participants in the gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector to take greater pains in casting aspersion on fossil fuels.

Speaking in Paris, Coleman noted that, aside from a price differential, burning coal for power generation and the use of gasoline-powered vehicles also contributed to air pollution, telling delegates that natural gas should play a key role in addressing these issues.

“Think about the particulates. Natural gas emits only trace particulates, and using natural gas compared to coal produces far less dangerous nitrogen and sulphur oxides.”

Coleman noted that while coal is at face value cheaper than gas, the full life-cycle costs of coal versus natural gas were much greater.

“Our industry has historically been too timid to aggressively address the shortcomings of coal. But now is the time to stand up. We in the gas sector must do more to highlight the benefits of gas over the product of our competitors.

“Natural gas should, and must, play a key role in addressing climate change.”

Coleman told delegates that if gas and LNG producers limited the conversation to one based on price, the industry failed its shareholders and those seeking reliable sources of power while helping to resolve issues associated with air quality and climate change.

“There is a compelling case to make the switch to natural gas.”

Meanwhile, Coleman predicted that there would also be an increase in the use of natural gas-to-power vehicles, as more and more governments came to terms with air pollution and focused on reducing emissions.

Pointing to figures from analyst Wood Mackenzie, Coleman said that global demand for LNG in the transport sector is tipped to grow from less than five-billion cubic metres in 2012 to over 80-billion cubic metres in 2030. This represented an increase from less than 1% to more than 10% of global LNG demand.

Heavy-duty trucking is expected to be the greatest driver of natural gas vehicle demand – nearly 45-billion cubic metres by 2030, with China remaining the single largest market for gas in transport, with 45-billion cubic metres by 2030.

Coleman also urged industry participants not to fear an abundance of supply, saying that as supply came into the market and played a greater role in the energy mix, greater uses would be found for it.

“Additional supply carries potential for new applications for gas, spurring demand.

“At this stage, the uses of natural gas are quite rudimentary and are the same uses that we have had for the past 50 years.”

“But gas is actually unique because it can be used in many different forms – compressed or liquid. We know that these uses haven’t been fully exploited yet,” Coleman said.