In 2016/2017, thinkstep compared the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of natural gas imports to Europe provided by Nord Stream 2 pipeline and LNG import alternatives.
Due to the decreasing domestic natural gas production in the future, the European Union will face a substantial natural gas supply gap in the next 30 years. Consequently, additional natural gas has to be imported to Europe to satisfy the demand of natural gas on the European energy market. The reference scenario 2016 of the European Commission – which analyses the trends to 2050 regarding energy, transport and GHG emissions in Europe – determines significant amounts of incremental net imports of natural gas up to 2050.
The study focuses on two supply options to Europe for this additional natural gas demand:
- Pipeline gas imported from the new Russian gas field with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline;
- Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from Algeria, Australia, Qatar and USA considering existing and emerging natural gas resources.
