Natural gas & LNG
The cleanest, most flexible fossil fuel. Gas halves power-generation emissions versus coal and starts in minutes to balance intermittency — but leaking methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and the LNG chain demands end-to-end cryogenic control.
The main families
Extraction, treatment, transport
Conventional and shale extraction, dehydration and sweetening, high-pressure pipeline transport. Gas quality (ISO 13686) governs everything downstream.
Liquefaction, carriers, regas
Liquefied at -162 °C, gas ships by carrier over long distances then is regasified on arrival. Fixed or floating (FSRU) terminals. Cryogenic, rollover and BLEVE risks governed by EN 1473.
Turbines, CHP, biomethane
Combined-cycle (CCGT) and peaker gas turbines for flexible power, cogeneration, gas grid. Greening via biomethane and hydrogen blending (hydrogen-ready turbines).
Key challenges
- Transition fuel — switching from coal to gas halves power-generation CO₂; but fugitive methane is up to 80× CO₂ over 20 years — leak detection is decisive.
- Process safety — flammable high-pressure gas: ATEX zoning, fire/gas detection, safety instrumented systems (IEC 61511) at the core of design.
- Cryogenic LNG chain — at -162 °C, material embrittlement, rollover and BLEVE risks: containment, bunding and distances per EN 1473.
- Grid flexibility — CCGTs start in minutes to offset renewable intermittency; peakers cover peaks — gas remains the crutch of the transition.
- Greening — grid-injected biomethane, hydrogen blending, hydrogen-ready turbines and CO₂ capture on gas plants extend the infrastructure's role.
See also
Gas-specific standards
- EN 1473 / ISO 16903 — Onshore LNG installations: design, cryogenic containment, safety distances.
- API 521 / API 2000 — Pressure relief and venting: sizing of relief valves and atmospheric venting.
- ISO 13686 — Natural gas quality: composition specifications for grid interchangeability.
- IEC 61511 — Safety instrumented systems (SIS) for gas process installations.
Related standard pages on IndustryHub
Major players
Gas majors
Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, QatarEnergy, Cheniere, Equinor.
LNG & cryogenics
Air Products, Linde, Chart Industries, Baker Hughes, Technip Energies.
Gas turbines
GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi Power, Ansaldo Energia.
LNG carriers
Hyundai HI, Samsung HI, GTT (cuves membranes), Mitsui OSK.
Landmark facts
| Fact | Year | Location | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| European gas crisis | 2022 | Europe | The collapse of Russian deliveries sent prices soaring and accelerated floating LNG terminals (FSRU) deployment in months, revealing dependence and the strategic value of imported LNG. |
| Cleveland LNG explosion | 1944 | Ohio, USA | Failure of an LNG tank released gas that ignited; 130 deaths. Shaped the containment, bunding and distance rules underpinning EN 1473. |
| Satellite methane detection | 2020s | Global | Satellites (MethaneSAT, Sentinel-5P) make methane leaks visible and public; combined with the OGMP 2.0 initiative, they turn leak detection into a regulatory and reputational issue. |