CAIRO - Natural gas is often described as the cleanest fuel, producing less carbon dioxide per joule delivered than either coal or oil. Natural gas consists primarily of methane (80 per cent) and other hydrocarbon gases in different ratios. It is an important fuel source, a major feedstock for a variety of chemical industries, and is supplied to homes where it is used for purposes such as cooking and central heating. In recent years, it has been used as an alternative to automobile fuels such as gasoline and diesel. The major application of natural gas is in power generation, as more than 25 per cent of the world's global needs of electricity are supplied by the burning of this gas. Since the recent revolution in Egypt, the press and other media have been giving increasing attention to the country's natural gas exports. In the past weeks, this issue has become very topical and Egyptians need to know some basic facts about this natural resource. Egypt exports natural gas through pipelines to many countries in the East Mediterranean including Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Egypt's exports to Spain and Italy take place by liquefaction of natural gas at cryogenic temperatures. The gas is turned into liquid at a liquefaction plant at the initial port of shipment and is returned to the gaseous form at a regasification plant at the terminal. LNG (liquefied natural gas) is the preferred form for long distance, high volume transportation, whereas pipelines are preferred for transport for distances up to 4,000km. Natural gas trucks and carriers may transport natural gas directly to end-users or to distribution points such as pipelines. In the business world, natural gas is traded in millions of BTUs, with the price of 1 million BTUs ranging from $4 to $6. One million BTUs (British thermal units) is the heat of combustion or the amount of heat delivered when burning 1,000 cubic feet of gas. Egypt's natural gas reserves are estimated to be around 80 trillion cubic feet and Egypt's yearly consumption of gas is about 1.5 trillion cubic feet, while the country exports around half a trillion cubic feet. If you do some simple arithmetic, you'll discover that our reserves will only be sufficient to cover local demand and exports until about the year 2050! Egypt will then have to start importing it. So what is the best thing to do? Should we stop exporting our natural gas so that it will last us beyond 2050? Or should be keep on exporting it to add to our national income, while hoping nuclear power and the possible commercialisation of solar energy might one day satisfy our future needs? Whatever we decide to do, we can't have it all.
