Natural gas is the future - Qatar
2010-11-01 12:26
Singapore - Natural gas will become more "desirable" than other sources of energy including renewables, nuclear and fossil fuels, Qatar's energy minister said on Monday.
Speaking at an international energy forum in Singapore, Abdulla Bin Hamad al-Attiyah said he was confident that global natural gas adoption will accelerate mainly because it is cheaper and is more environmentally friendly.
"I'm certain... that natural gas will continue to gain further momentum as a clean and secure source of energy," he said.
"Coupled with the environmental regulations and emission reduction policies, this much cleaner fuel is becoming the most desirable source of energy for large-scale electricity generation worldwide."
Coal and oil use are unviable due to their detrimental environmental effects while biofuels' main disadvantages include high food crop prices, copious land and excessive water usage, al-Attiyah said.
'Too expensive'
Nuclear power, while seen as a clean energy, emits carbon dioxide and generates radioactive waste that has to be disposed of safely and properly.
Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro power are "environmentally-promising" but they remain too expensive, he said.
"Major technological breakthroughs across the renewable energy production chain are needed in order to economically tap these sources of energy," he said.
Qatar, which boasts the world's third largest natural gas reserves, is starting to see more demand coming from Asia, the Qatari minister said.
"We start to divert more cargoes to Asia... We are discussing for another seven million tons extra to China and another four to five million to India," he said.
