Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Energy & Water Mr. Cesar Abi Khalil, ESCWA, MoEW, and IPT Energy center (IPTEC) organized a session on "Natural Gas as a Clean Alternative Fuel in the Transportation Sector in Lebanon" as part of IBEF 2017.
The event took place at Le Royal Hotel- Dbayeh on Wednesday, 20 September 2017 in the presence of Dr. Toni Issa IPTEC President, Mrs. Aurore Feghali, Director General of Oil, representing H.E. the Minister of Energy & Water, Mrs. Rola Majdalani, Director of Sustainable Development and Productivity Division at ESCWA, Mrs. Radia Sedaoui, Chief Energy Section/ Sustainable Development Policies at ESCWA, and Dr. Ramadan Ghalayini, Exploration Consultant at the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA), representing LPA Chairman Mr. Wissam Chbat.
Dr. Issa initiated the session by stating that according to studies the transportation sector is one of the major contributors to air pollution in Lebanon, thus the need to shift towards alternative fuel solutions, and specifically Natural Gas. He highlighted that natural gas is a clean alternative to fossil fuels due to the following: (1) it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, (2) its reserves are abundant, (3) it is a safer source, (4) it is cheaper by 30% than other sources, and (5) the maintenance cost of vehicles operating on natural gas is generally less expensive.
He also shed light on the various challenges faced along the way, most notably: (1) the logistical and technical difficulties of importing natural gas, (2) the high cost of manufacturing vehicles operating on natural gas, (3) the high cost and lack of adequate infrastructure related to storing, transporting and distributing natural gas, (4) competition from alternative sources, such as bio fuels or hybrid and electricity- powered vehicles.
At last, Dr. Issa thanked IPTEC partners in energy sustainability, ESCWA UNDP, MoE, LCEC, LPA, and the General Directorate of oil, as well as His Excellency the Minister of Energy & Water Mr. Cesar Abi Khalil for sponsoring this session and supporting IPTEC initiatives.
In her speech, Mrs. Feghali noted that Lebanon is not only working hard to secure its energy needs, but also to address environmental challenges through the use of cleaner energy sources. She confirmed that the MoEW has already set in collaboration with the LCEC and other parties the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency National Action Plans for the Republic of Lebanon 2016- 2020. She explained that the Ministry is working to secure at least 15% of electricity in Lebanon from clean and renewable energy sources, and seeks to reduce the rate of energy bills by introducing more efficient ways for energy consumption, in parallel to improving the infrastructure and services in Lebanon to reach a 24-hour power supply.
In the short term, the purpose is to produce two third of the electricity from natural gas to supply power plants. She stressed on the need to develop a public transport plan with vehicles that operate on clean and environmentally friendly sources of fuel.
In her turn, Mrs. Sidawi explained that emissions resulting from the intensive consumption of liquid petroleum products in the transport sector have exceeded the accepted international standards which leads to increased air pollution especially in overcrowded cities. She explained that the importance of using natural gas in this sector lies in the fact that it can mitigate the effects of climate change, and can enhance the efficiency of vehicles and thus promote sustainable energy. She assured that the use of Natural Gas as a clean alternative fuel in the Transport sector is increasing worldwide, adding that in 2017 there were 23,000,000 cars operating on natural gas globally. She continued: "The transportation sector accounts for about a third of the total energy consumption in the Arab region and is one of the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions, and the experience of Arab countries in the use of natural gas as alternative fuel in the transport sector remains limited in Egypt, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia". At last she concluded on the role of the government as a key factor in promoting the use of natural gas as a cleaner fuel in the transport sector by providing financial or other incentives. The fact that Lebanon becomes a producer of natural gas in addition or we start using natural gas as an alternative fuel in the transport sector, is an added value and a major step towards cleaner and more sustainable energy consumption. Download Mrs. Sidawi's presentation.
At the end of the session, Dr. Ghalayini explained that the levant basin is a world-class, frontier deepwater gas province. More than 50 tcf of natural gas were discovered so far in the region. Consequently, results of the studies all point out to a high potential offshore Lebanon, proved by the presence of multiple petroleum systems. He then explained about the multiple studies undertaken by the LPA in collaboration with various academic and industrial partners, to better understand the nature of the Lebanese gas reserves and reduce uncertainty and risk during exploration. The current need for the Lebanese economy in gas is 0.2 tcf/year, expected to grow to 0.26 tcf/year by 2030. This indicates that part of the discovered gas will be targeted to the Lebanese market, but the major share will be exported to neighbouring countries. Download Dr. Ghalayini's presentation
In the Media: NNA (Press Release)- Tayyar.org