28.05.2021 – 20:37
Russian pipeline gas transferred to Europe has a carbon footprint four times smaller than liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped from the US, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister and former Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
Novak’s comments came shortly after US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm questioned the environmental friendliness of Russian gas, claiming that the fuels are “The most polluted” in the world.
“The issue of environmental friendliness of this or that product is currently very overlapping, however, if the problem is seriously addressed with a proper assessment of objective evidence, the result may surprise observers.” tha Novak.
He noted that Russian gas supplied to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline has one “Almost four times smaller carbon footprint than gas delivered to Europe from the US.”
According to Novak, this is due to the fact that most American gas is extracted from shredding, which involves drilling into the ground and releasing gas and oil from the clay rock.
Fracking is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to extract hydrocarbons. Once extracted from the clay rocks, American gas is collected in a liquefaction plant. LNG is then transported to Europe by tanker, thus increasing the total emissions of greenhouse gases remaining throughout the life cycle of American gas.
The former energy minister added that Russia pays great attention to ensuring its environmental leadership, as well as supplying clean energy to its partners.
Translated and adapted for Konica.al by RT
